Fancy Group, Indore I

Entertainments at “fancy dress” or costume parties often included amateur theatricals or tableaux vivants —static scenes drawn from literature, history, or artworks. Here, Deen Dayal captured three moments distilled from a popular novel or play. The guests—all middle or upper class—perform as characters ranging from the working class to ladies and gentlemen. The woman holding a bucket labeled “Emma Brown of Margate” was likely playing a fishwife selling her husband’s catch. Because the photographic technology of the time required strong daylight, the photographs would have been made on a separate occasion, not at the party.