Indigenous men and women

This picture belongs to a set of photographs taken by Rudolf Jagerspacher, an Austrian who came to Singapore in 1886 and joined G.R. Lambert & Company as an assistant photographer when its founder left for Europe. Lambert’s photographic studio was known for its large format landscapes and portraits of the inhabitants of Singapore, Malaya and the region. In addition, the Company was also appointed as the official photographer to the King of Siam and the Sultan of Johore. By the end of the 19th century, G.R. Lambert and Company was the largest and most successful photographic studio in Asia.The photograph seen here is probably one of the stock images Jagerspacher sent home to his family in Vienna.