Calcutta Races and the Pageant January 1912 during the Royal Tour by King George V & Queen Mary following the Delhi durbar

Calcutta 1912. A ticket for CALCUTTA RACES  GRAND ENCLOSURE  ADMIT BEARER  3rd Jan. 1912 . The admission ticket, 90 x 70 mm, is printed in green on pink card and numbered 25 suggesting a distinguished  holder [see our provenance below]. This meeting took place during the Calcutta Pageant held during the Royal Visit over Christmas and New Year following the Delhi Durbar the previous month. Even the announcement at the Durbar that the capital of India was to be moved from Calcutta to Delhi did not dim the celebrations during the tour of the only reigning monarch to visit India. oct30/2

Provenance: We acquired this item in a fascinating little collection of ephemera and private items which had been kept by a valet to Lt. General Sir Horrace Smith Dorrien, G.C.B., G.C.M.G., D.S.O.  who was A.D.C. General to His Majesty the King Emperor on this tour. [1858-1930].  This must have been the general’s ticket  as its number is accounted for by his seniority within the Royal Suite.