Lala Deen Dayal

Infobox Artist
name = Lala Deen Dayal

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birthdate = 1844
deathdate = 5 July, 1910
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nationality = Indianflagicon|British Raj
field = Photography
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Lala Deen Dayal (1844 - 1910) (also known as Raja Deen Dayal [The Library of Congress (i.e. the Anglo-American Name Authority) gives the date of his death as 5 July 1905, which is probably an error, and gives the preferred form of his name as "Deen Dayal, Raja". The Union List of Artist Names gives his year of death as 1910 and the preferred form of his name as "Dayal, Lala Deen".] ) was an Indian photographer. He was the court photographer to the sixth Nizam of Hyderabad, Mahbub Ali Khan, Asif Jah VI.

Early life

Deen Dayal was born in Sardhana, Uttar Pradesh. He was trained as an engineer but took up photography around 1864. The following year he was commissioned to photograph the Governor General's tour of Central India [Johnson.] . In 1866 Deen Dayal entered government service as Head Estimator and Draughtsman [Thomas, 24.] .

Career

In 1868, Deen Dayal founded his studio "Lala Deen Dayal & Sons", and was subsequently commissioned to photograph various temples and palaces of India [Johnson.] . He established studios in Secunderabad, Bombay, and Indore in the 1870s [Thomas, 31.] .

In 1875-76, Deen Dayal photographed the Royal Tour of the Prince and Princess of Wales [Thomas, 24.] . In the early 1880s he travelled with Sir Lepel Griffin through Bundelkhand, photographing the ancient architecture of the region [Thomas, 39.] .

Deen Dayal was appointed as the photographer to the Viceroy of India in 1885 [Thomas, 40] . The next year he retired from government service and concentrated on his career as a professional photographer. Soon afterwards he moved from Indore to Hyderabad to work for the Nizam of Hyderabad, who conferred the honorary title of "Raja" upon him. It was at this time that Dayal created the firm "Raja Deen Dayal & Sons" in Hyderabad [Thomas, 40.] .

Deen Dayal was appointed photographer to Queen Victoria in 1887 [Thomas, 40] .

In 1905-1906, Raja Deen Dayal accompanied the Royal Tour of the Prince and Princess of Wales [Thomas, 40.] . Dayal died in Bombay in 1910.

Gallery

Photographs taken by Deen Dayal in the 1880s, sourced from the British Library, George Curzon's Collection: "Views of HH the Nizam's Dominions, Hyderabad, Deccan, 1892".

Notes

References

* [http://authorities.loc.gov/webvoy.htm Anglo-American Name Authority File, s.v. “Deen Dayal, Raja”, LC Control Number n 79141503] , cited 18 August 2006.
* [http://www.cca.qc.ca//Collectionenligne/fiches/fiches15.asp?makeDiv=false&ID=Dayal%2C+Lala+Deen&origineObject=PH1980:0271:001-051&ficheType=2&langue=2 Canadian Centre for Architecture; Collections Online, s.v. “Dayal, Lala Deen”] , cited 18 August 2006.
* Johnson, William S. "Nineteenth-Century Photography: An Annotated Bibliography, 1839-1879" (Boston: G.K. Hall, 1990).
* Thomas, G. "History of photography, India, 1840-1980" (Andhra Pradesh: Andhra Pradesh State Akademi of Photography, 1981), 24, 31, 39, 40.
* [http://www.getty.edu/vow/ULANFullDisplay?find=%13%11Dayal&role=&nation=&prev_page=1&subjectid=500037191 Union List of Artist Names, s.v. "Dayal, Lala Deen"] , cited 18 August 2006.

Further reading

* Princely India: Photographs by Raja Deen Dayal, 1884-1910 (Unknown Binding) by Deen Dayal (Author)
* Raja Deen Dayal : Prince of Photographers By Narendra Luther ISBN 81-901752-0-3