This is a rare panoramic view of the town from the south taken by Bourne & Shepherd, the most successful 19th century photographic studio in India, founded in 1863. Between 1870 and 1911, the firm is known to have hired photographers to photograph various parts of the British Empire. The fact that an India-based studio procured images of Singapore attests to a demand for views of Singapore as well as the significance of Singapore within the British colonial worldview. This perspective is also rare because Mount Wallich was levelled to the ground by 1885 for the reclamation of Telok Ayer Bay to form the area where Anson and Robinson Roads now lie, linking Collyer Quay to Tanjong Pagar. From this vantage point, one can see the old Telok Ayer Market.
