Nat Geo Archives: Rare Photos From India That Didn’t Make the Cut

These rare, unpublished gems buried deep in its archives make you think: how were these not published?

An Indian movie crew filming a wedding scene at “Famous Studios” in Bombay, March 1948

(Photo Courtesy: National Geographic/Volkmar K Wentzel)

National Geographic is synonymous with some of the world’s finest photography, and that is only what they publish. Buried deep with it archives lie forgotten, unpublished photographs from life across the world, spanning almost a century. Images so fascinating they make one wonder: how did these not make the cut?

Well, they have now.

Found is Nat Geo’s photo stream on Tumblr, launched in 2013 to mark the iconic Yellow Window’s 125th birthday.

“If we haven’t seen them, it’s likely that they aren’t known outside the offices of National Geographic. Figuring out a way to ‘lift the veil’ even a little bit was something I was determined to do.”

Web Barr, Designer, <i>Nat Geo </i>speaking to <a href="https://www.wired.com/2013/06/natgeo-blog-mines-their-incredible-archives-for-precious-gems/"><i>Wired</i></a>

These vintage photographs, otherwise lost in vast archives, slipping through the cracks of time, have been given a new life on social media, to be shared, engaged with or even saved!

Quint Lens dived into hundreds of photos from across the world on Found to curate a a fascinating gallery of what India looked like several decades ago, through a Nat Geo lens.

A view of the Taj Mahal on the Yamuna River, 1923.(Photo courtesy: National Geographic/Jules Gervais Courtellemont)

A view of a bathing ghat on the shores of The Ganges in India, 1923.(Photo Courtesy: National Geographic/Jules Gervais Courtellemont)

View of the Maharaja’s palace pond from the Island of the Sultans in Udaipur, India, 1923.(Photo Courtesy: National Geographic/Jules Gervais Courtellemont)

A group of people gather round and watch a snake charmer at work in India, 1923.(Photo Courtesy: National Geographic/Hans Hildenbrand)

A Royal Mail bus with armed guards heads out from Razmak to Jandola in Pakistan (formerly a part of India), April 1946.(Photo Courtesy: National Geographic/Maynard Owen Williams)

A view of the ornate art and architecture of a building in Chennai, India, 1948.(Photo Courtesy: National Geographic Creative/ Volkmar Wentzel)

An Indian movie crew filming a wedding scene at ‘Famous Studios’ in Bombay, March 1948.(Photo Courtesy: National Geographic/Volkmar K Wentzel)

Women in bright dresses walk by a fountain with the Taj Mahal in the background, 1959.(Photo Courtesy: National Geographic Creative/Melville B Grosvenor)

Workers swarm over scaffolding to erect the Nagarjuna Sagar dam in India, May 1963.(Photo Courtesy: National Geographic/John Scofield)

Pilgrims bathe in the Narmada’s 160-foot-tall Kadil Dhara waterfall in India, November 1988.(Photo courtesy: National Geographic/James P Blair)