Jean Baptiste Oscar Mallitte

Jean Baptiste Oscar Mallitte was a photographer documented to be professionally active during a brief, concentrated period between 1858 and 1861. His surviving body of work, represented in major institutions including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, consists of high-quality prints that serve as important documentary records of military and political life in the British colonial context.

Mallitte's photography focused heavily on portraiture and environmental documentation related to the Governor General's Camp and administrative centers in India. Six of his photographic works are currently preserved in museum collections, illustrating his direct access to high-ranking figures such as Lord Clyde, Commander in Chief, and Lady Canning.

Specific notable works include the portraits Lady Canning and Lady Canning on her Black Arab and Lord Clyde, Commander in Chief, alongside group studies like Campbell Twins in a Shigram, Governor General's Camp. Mallitte also documented architecture, as evidenced by his photograph of Metcalfe House, Delhi.

The detailed nature of these historical documents, including the extensive group portrait Group portrait at the Governor Generals Camp, L-R: Maj Jones, Mr. Walters, The Governor Generals Chaplain, J.C.S. and Sir E.Campbell Bart., 60th Rifles Mry. Sry. to G.G., establishes their status as museum-quality photographic artifacts. These Jean Baptiste Oscar Mallitte prints are often digitized and available in the public domain for research.