This postcard features a seated Kapitan Cina of Batavia (local Chinese government official who had jurisdiction over local Chinese communities in the civil administration of colonial Indonesia) with an attendant young boy in an outdoor setting. Printed on the recto: ‘Chineesch Hoofd te Batavia’ (‘Chinese Head [Kapitan Cina] in Batavia’). Also inscribed on the recto are the words: ‘“Augusta” / [illegible] / Batavia’, as well as an affixed stamp and stamp mark. Inscribed on the verso: ‘Drukwerk / Mr. M. G. Jelibon / 21 bis Rue des Tanneurs / Nogent le Rotrou / France’, indicating that the postcard was sent to a recipient in France.This postcard is attributed to G. Kolff & Co., a bookstore, book printing and publishing company which operated in Batavia from the mid-19th to mid-20th century. The company also produced postcards featuring local views and subjects. Photographs and postcards depicting local landscapes and subjects of the colonial Dutch East Indies which were sent to Europe played an important role in influencing European perceptions of the colony.
