Stories
Behind the pictures
The line to the hills
How a railway climbed from the coast to the coffee and tea country, one tunnel at a time.
The making of Colombo
In a few decades, an open roadstead and a garrison town became one of the great ports of the East.
From coffee to tea
A leaf disease destroyed one plantation economy, and the hills were replanted with another.
The ancient cities uncovered
Before the guidebooks, the great ruins lay deep in jungle. The camera caught them being rediscovered.
The studios behind the pictures
A handful of commercial firms made most of the images the world saw of Ceylon. Their marks are still visible on the prints.