Hooghly Ink Co Ltd- letter heading

Below is a copy of the letter heading used by the Hooghly Ink Co Ltd in India in 1976.  It shows the address of their offices in India and the main office in Calcutta.

Previously the address had been 67A, Ballygunge Circular Road but it was renamed at some point in the 1970s but the office was still located in the small building.  At the same time there was a trend to rename lots of streets in Calcutta.

Hooghly Ink Co Ltd - Leaving Photo 1950

I attach below a photo of the staff of the Hooghly Ink Co Ltd in Madras on the occasion of the retirement of Lt Col R O Taylor.  My father also appears on the photo, it was taken on 20 February 1950.

I also attach a close up of the front row.

Hooghly Ink Co Ltd - New Factory

I came across some old photographs from around 1947 to 1952 and the one I have attached shows the new factory of the Hooghly Ink Company Ltd being built in Madras. Two things catch your eye the first is the great car in the foreground and the second is the bamboo scaffolding being used in the construction of the new building.

Also are two photographs of the inside of the new factory where you can see they are starting to install the new machinery which was to be used to manufacture printing ink.

And from a slightly different angle.

Hooghly Ink Co Ltd Sign

A little while ago (It might have been in 2011) I came across an advert for some selling a business sign depicting the details of the 'Hooghly Ink Company Ltd' I do not know where he acquired the sign!

I cannot believe that there has been more than one ink company with this name.  This is the company where my father worked for in India between 1947 to 1975.

Hooghly Ink Company

While tidying up my desk I unearthed an old address book given to me by my father when he worked at the Hooghly Ink Company Ltd in Calcutta.  They also had factories in Madras, Bombay and Delhi. This address book dates from the late 1960's and the cover says "Manufacturers of fine printing inks for over 50 years."

Like all firms they had a selection of gifts to give to business contacts and clients, I also had a thread counter, a calendar and pen holder for a desk, an ink blotter, a keyring and of course they produced a calendar every year.  That would be interesting to track down a calendar.  I do remember that my sister featured on the calendar one year as a young child.  I think the business was first set up in India in the 1920's or early based on the statement on the address book it could be earlier but I am not certain?  It originally was a subsidy company of the UK ink manufacturer called Richardson's Printing Inks.

Ballygunge Calcutta

Scanned a couple of photos of the house where I lived as a child in Calcutta between 1957 to 1975.  Probably in the late 1960s or early 1970s a 20 storey block of apartments was built across the road from our house and it was called Tivoli Court.  One of the photos taken from our upstairs verandah shows the corner of the flats and our front gate.  The little house near the gate is where the guards or 'Derwans' lived.

The second photo is taken from the gate looking back at the house, I lived in the upper right corner and the offices for the Hooghly Ink Company were the entire ground floor.

The two colour photos were probably taken in the 1970s and the next photo in black and white was probably taken in the 1960s.

First Day Cover - Conquest of Everest 29-5-53

Another First Day Cover and quite a special one commemorating the Conquest of Everest on 29 May 1953.  This was addressed to my father's colleague at the Hooghly Ink Company in Calcutta.  Mr Birkett was Managing Director the Company for a few years.

Again it is likely that the ink used to print the stamps came from the Hooghly Ink Company.

First Day Cover - Nehru 12 June 1964

I thought I would do something different today but still relevant to the Blog Title.  My father worked for the Hooghly Ink Company manufacturing printing ink.  Some ink was sold to be used in Indian bank notes and also in the printing of postage stamps.  As a result he got given stamps over the years and collected stamps.  Today I am adding a First Day Cover from 1964 commemorating Jawaharlal Nehru.

I will add a variety of other covers in the coming weeks as well as the usual variety of posts as well.  Any stamp collectors out there?  Hope you like it.

Ballygunge Circular Road - Calcutta, India

I thought I would go off in a different direction today as I came across a photograph of the house where I lived in Calcutta.  The photo is taken from a block of flats across the road which was known as Tivoli Court in the 1970s.  The upstairs of the house was divided into two apartments and my family lived in the top right had section.  The downstairs was the offices of the company where my father worked which was known as the 'Hooghly Ink Co Ltd.'

The building was next door to what was known as 'Bishops College' which was a training college for priests.  I will add more photos covering the time I spent in India along with more paintings.