Sher Singh hunting in the environs of Lahore
How does one recreate the landscape of place from a 100 years ago, 200, or even more? You go through historical texts, looking for references to the natural world. Like this reference to a hunt that I found. Prince Alexis Soltykoff (an image that accompanied his obituary in 1859) Prince Alexis Soltykoff (or Saltykov) was a Russian diplomat and artist who retired at the age of 35, in the year 1840, and settled in Paris. The next year he embarked on his first voyage to India (March 1841 - January 1843). He sailed to Bombay and from there on to Ceylon, where he spent some time before coming to India, spending time in the south and then taking a ship from Madras to Calcutta. He then travelled across the northern plains to Punjab, with hopes of going to Kashmir but unrest in the valley prevented this. He travelled to Shimla and spent time in the Western Himalayas before returning to Delhi. He then travelled back up to Ferozepur and took a boat down the Indus and then a ship to Bombay and fr...