Call Number:

Ms. Coll. 1760

Repository:

University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts

Extent:

.3 linear feet (1 box)

Language:

German, Sanskrit, and English

Preferred Citation:

Peter Gaeffke photograph album and scrapbook, 1949, 1952-1955, Ms. Coll. 1760, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania

Date:

1949, 1952-1955 (inclusive)

Creator:

Gaeffke, Peter, 1927-2005

Abstract:

This collection is comprised of two photograph albums, one of which also contains scrapbook-like entries, compiled by Peter Gaeffke, a professor of modern Indian literature at the University of Pennsylvania, during his time in India from 1952 through 1955. The volumes contain travel photography and photographs and material related to modern Indian art and the Calcutta Group.

Hans Peter Theodor (Peter) Gaeffke was born in Breslau, Germany (now Wroclaw, Poland) on December 6, 1927.

From 1947 to 1952, he studied history, Germanic studies, and Indo-Germanic in Regensburg and Mainz and earned his PhD at the University of Mainz in 1952.

From 1952 to 1955, he was a resident scholar and studied Sanskrit at the University of Calcutta. He then served on the Monostry of Education of Rheinland-Pfalz from 1955 to 1962 and worked as a Resident Fellow of the German Association for Pure Researchers from 1962 to 1964. In 1964 he became a lecturer in 20th century Indian literature at the University of Utrecht. He worked there until 1975 when he became a professor in modern Indian literature at the University of Pennsylvania.

Gaeffke focused his research on Medieval North Indian devotional literature and authored several published works, including Hindi Literature in the Twentieth Century and Kabir in Urdu Literature.

Gaeffke was married to Rosemarie Gaeffke and together they had two children, Josephine and Guido.

Gaeffke died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on March 30, 2005.

Much of the art-related material in this collection is related to the Calcutta Group, a group of modern artists in India formed in Kolkata in 1943. They are recognized as the first major art movement in India and, by the time the group disbanded in 1953, they had transformed contemporary Indian art and brought the genre international recognition. The group's founding members include Subho Tagore, Nirode Mazumdar, Rathin Maitra, Prankrishna Pal, Gopal Ghosh, Rabin Mondal, Paritosh Sen, Prodosh Dasgupta, and Kamala Das Gupta. Later members that appear in this collection include Rathin Mitra, Gobardhan Ash, and Sunil Madhav Sen.

Sources:

"Deaths." University of Pennsylvania Almanac, Vol. 51, No. 27, 5 Apr. 2005, almanac.upenn.edu/archive/volumes/v51/n27/obit.html.

"Gaeffke, Hans Peter Theodor (Peter)." Dutch Studies on South Asia, Tibet and Classical Southeast Asia, www.dutchstudies-satsea.nl/deelnemers/gaeffke-hans-peter-theodor-peter/. Accessed 15 Apr. 2026.

Nercam, Nicolas. "Les Artistes du Groupe de Calcutta (1943–1953) : Entre Tradition Occidentale et Modernité Indienne." Open Library of Humanities, vol. 6, no. 1, 2020, pp. 1–27, https://doi.org/10.16995/olh.371.

This collection is comprised of two photograph albums, one of which also contains scrapbook-like entries, compiled by Peter Gaeffke during his time in India from 1952 through 1955.

Volume one contains travel photographs (p. 2-21), clippings and art exhibition catalogs (p. 22-27, 32-57), and photographs of artworks by members of the Calcutta group (p. 28-30).

The photographs mostly include images of architecture and local people in Muhammedpur. There are also photographs from Barabanki, Dewa, and Fatehpur. Two individuals of the pictured individuals are identified, Mohibul Hasan Kahn and Mauhisim Hasan Kahn.

The clippings and catalogs are related to art and artists in India, mostly those contemporary to the time of the album's creation. There are catalogs of art by Mickey Evans, Indra Dugar, Naren Mallik, Gopal Ghosh, Sri Phanibhusan, and Sunil Madhan Sen. There are also catalogs from the Calcutta Group and the Government College of Arts and Crafts in Calcutta. The clippings are from Indian newspapers such as The Hindusthan Standard, The Illustrated Weekly of India, and The Sunday Hindusthan.

The photographs are of artworks by Calcutta Group artists including Prodosh Dasgupta, Sunil Madhav Sen, Nirode Mazumdar, Prankrishna Pal, Rathin Mitra, and Gobardhan Ash.

Volume two mostly consists of travel photographs of architecture and people. There are photographs from Cairo, Bombay, Calcutta, Bansberia, Bandel, Pandua, Tribeni, Kalna, Gwalior, Lucknow, and Delhi. There are also photographs of architecture and architectural details at landmarks such as Khajuraho (p. 6, 9-12), Lingaraja Temple (p. 21), and the marble palace of Calcutta (p. 33).

The volume is written in German and contains Gaeffke's passport photograph (p. 1). He and others, identified as Mira, Dr. Fisher, Professor Raffalk, Dr. Hamm, Dr. Bulke, and Mr. Hasan, are present in several of the photographs.