U. Ray and Sons

U. Ray and Sons was a Bengali Indian blockmaking, printing, and publishing firm established in Calcutta in 1895 by Upendrakishore Ray. It began as a specialist technical business intended to address the poor quality and high cost of engraved and photographic illustration blocks available to local printers. At a time when Calcutta possessed capable presses but lacked affordable, reliable reproduction technology, Upendrakishore imported equipment from Britain and independently studied photographic and halftone processes. The firm initially advertised bromide enlargements and halftone blocks, and it developed a reputation for unusually fine work in zinc, copper, monochrome, and colour reproduction. The business was first known simply as U. Ray, after its founder. The name U. Ray and Sons was adopted in 1900, when Upendrakishore's son Sukumar Ray became involved. Sukumar later received specialist training in photoengraving and lithography in Britain, adding technical knowledge that strengthened the firm's capabilities. The company became associated with experiments in process photography, halftone screens, colour reproduction, and the standardisation of process-camera practices. Upendrakishore published technical research in the Penrose Annual, an important British printing journal, and his work addressed subjects including halftone-dot theory, screen adjustment, diffraction, cross-line screens, and photographic reproduction. The firm is particularly noted for early and influential work with halftone technology in India and for technical contributions that attracted international attention within the printing trade. U. Ray and Sons expanded beyond contract blockmaking into printing and publishing. In 1913, the family moved its residence, workshop, office, and printing operations to a purpose-built premises at 100 Garpar Road in north Calcutta. The new facility helped the firm operate as an integrated press and publishing house. Its publishing programme included children's literature, Bengali retellings of legends and classical stories, illustrated books, magazines, and commercial printing. The house's most enduring periodical was Sandesh, a Bengali children's magazine first issued in 1913 by Upendrakishore, with Sukumar Ray serving as editor. The magazine combined stories, poems, illustrations, educational material, and humour, and became closely identified with the Ray family. Among the firm's best-known books were Upendrakishore's Tuntunir Boi, or The Tailor Bird's Book, published in 1910, and Sukumar Ray's Abol Tabol, first issued in book form in 1923 shortly after the author's death. U. Ray and Sons also published works by other members of the extended Ray family, including Bengali adaptations of the Iliad and Odyssey and collections based on Indian legends and folklore. Its photo-process expertise was used for periodicals, picture albums, catalogues, letterheads, show cards, and colour plates, including work associated with Bengali literary and cultural publications. Sukumar Ray's death in 1923 weakened the family business. Management passed to his brother Subinay Ray, and the firm experienced financial and organisational difficulties. It became bankrupt in 1926 and was formally wound up in January 1927. The Garpar Road property passed to creditors. A printing business reportedly re-emerged under different ownership in 1929, although the original family firm did not continue as an operating company. Sandesh itself was later revived independently by Satyajit Ray in 1961. U. Ray and Sons is therefore remembered both as an important early Indian photo-process enterprise and as the publishing environment that produced influential works of Bengali children's literature.

U. Ray and Sons emerged from the technical and artistic interests of Upendrakishore Ray, a Bengali writer, illustrator, musician, and printing innovator. In the early 1890s, Calcutta had competent printing presses but lacked an inexpensive local supply of high-quality metal blocks for reproducing illustrations. Commercially available halftone blocks were costly, while local expertise in photographic and graphic reproduction was uneven. This limitation affected Upendrakishore's own illustrated children's books and encouraged him to investigate process photography. He obtained a camera and associated equipment from A. W. Penrose & Co. in London and began experimenting with halftone blockmaking. The firm first advertised its services in 1895, offering bromide enlargements and halftone printing blocks. Advertisements in the Amrita Bazar Patrika during the following years described work in several screen finenesses and quoted separate rates for zinc and copper blocks. These notices show that the business was not merely an experimental studio: it was offering a structured commercial service to publishers, printers, and advertisers. Upendrakishore's research gave the firm a distinctive reputation. From 1897 onward he contributed technical articles to the Penrose Annual, discussing the focusing of screens, the theory of the halftone dot, automatic screen adjustment, diffraction, cross-line screens, and related aspects of process-camera work. His investigations sought to replace trial-and-error methods with more systematic principles. He also developed methods connected with colour reproduction and was associated with a sixty-degree screen and an automatic screen-adjustment indicator. The firm consequently became known for sophisticated photographic reproduction, including colour plates that were regarded as among the best available in Calcutta during its active period. The business was initially called U. Ray. In 1900, after Upendrakishore's son Sukumar Ray joined the enterprise, it became U. Ray and Sons. Sukumar later travelled to Britain on a scholarship to study photoengraving and lithography at the London County Council School and subsequently pursued further technical study at the University of Manchester. His training covered contemporary methods in halftone work, multiple stops, and related photographic processes. When Upendrakishore's health declined, Sukumar was increasingly involved in running the firm and applying new knowledge to its production. The company's scope broadened during the 1910s. Upendrakishore began publishing books, including Tuntunir Boi in 1910, a collection of Bengali folk-style children's tales illustrated by the author. In 1913 the family constructed a combined home and business premises at 100 Garpar Road. The site housed printing machinery, typesetting, blockmaking, and the Ray family's living quarters. That same year Upendrakishore started Sandesh, a Bengali children's magazine, with Sukumar as editor. The periodical became a central outlet for the family's writing, illustration, humour, and educational interests. U. Ray and Sons published or printed a range of Bengali books and periodicals. Its list included children's stories, adaptations of the Iliad and Odyssey, Indian legends and folk tales, and works associated with the Ray family. The firm also produced illustrations and colour plates for magazines, picture albums, catalogues, and other commercial clients. Its expertise was especially visible in the reproduction of photographs and illustrations for Bengali literary publications. Sukumar Ray died in 1923, soon after the publication of Abol Tabol in book form. The collection, previously serialised in Sandesh, became one of the defining works of Bengali children's literature. After Sukumar's death, management passed to his brother Subinay Ray. The enterprise subsequently suffered from weak business administration and internal difficulties, although the precise causes of its failure remain uncertain in the historical record. It became bankrupt in 1926 and was wound up in January 1927. The family's Garpar Road property went to creditors. A related printing operation was reportedly revived under new ownership in 1929, but this did not restore the original family firm. Sandesh was later revived by Satyajit Ray in 1961, preserving part of the publishing legacy in a new institutional form.

• 1927

  Original firm is liquidated

  [1]U. Ray and Sonsen.wikipedia.org

  U. Ray and Sons was wound up in January, ending the original family operation.

• 1926

  Business enters bankruptcy

  [1]U. Ray and Sonsen.wikipedia.org

  The firm collapsed amid management and organisational problems.

• 1923

  Abol Tabol is published

  [1]U. Ray and Sonsen.wikipedia.org

  Sukumar Ray's poetry collection appeared in book form shortly after his death.

• 1913

  Garpar Road press opens

  [1]U. Ray and Sonsen.wikipedia.org

  The firm's residence, offices, printing plant, typesetting rooms, and blockmaking facilities were consolidated at 100 Garpar Road.

• 1913

  Sandesh begins publication

  [1]U. Ray and Sonsen.wikipedia.org

  Upendrakishore launched Sandesh, a Bengali children's magazine edited by Sukumar Ray.

• 1911

  Sukumar Ray studies photoengraving in Britain

  [1]U. Ray and Sonsen.wikipedia.org

  Sukumar travelled abroad for specialist education in photoengraving and lithography, later adding advanced technical knowledge to the family business.

• 1910

  First known book publication

  [1]U. Ray and Sonsen.wikipedia.org

  The firm published Upendrakishore Ray's illustrated children's collection Tuntunir Boi.

• 1900

  The name U. Ray and Sons is adopted

  [1]U. Ray and Sonsen.wikipedia.org

  Sukumar Ray joined the enterprise, leading to the firm's expanded family name.

• 1897

  Technical research enters the printing press

  [1]U. Ray and Sonsen.wikipedia.org

  Upendrakishore began publishing research on halftone and process-camera methods in the Penrose Annual.

• 1895

  Firm founded in Calcutta

  [1]U. Ray and Sonsen.wikipedia.org

  Upendrakishore Ray established U. Ray as a specialist blockmaking and photographic reproduction business.

A technically ambitious Bengali printing and publishing house combining advanced photographic reproduction with illustrated children's and literary publishing.

• Printing technology · 1895

  Halftone and photoengraved blocks

  The firm's foundational service was the production of metal blocks for reproducing photographs and illustrations. It worked with zinc and copper and offered different screen finenesses, helping Calcutta publishers obtain more affordable and technically refined illustration blocks than were otherwise commonly available locally.

• Children's book · 1910

  Tuntunir Boi

  Upendrakishore Ray's illustrated collection of twenty-seven Bengali folk-style children's tales was published in 1910. The stories draw on oral narrative traditions and feature figures such as a tailor bird, tiger, sparrow, fox, cat, and weaver. It was an early example of the firm's move from technical printing into authored and illustrated publishing.

• Children's magazine · 1913

  Sandesh

  Sandesh was a Bengali children's magazine founded by Upendrakishore in 1913 and edited by Sukumar Ray. It combined stories, poems, illustrations, humour, and educational content. The magazine became a major expression of the Ray family's literary and visual culture, although publication ended after the original firm's collapse before being revived independently in 1961.

• Poetry book · 1923

  Abol Tabol

  Sukumar Ray's Bengali nonsense-poetry collection was first published in book form in September 1923, shortly after his death. It had previously appeared in parts in Sandesh. The first edition was notable for its distinctive top-bound format, resembling a writing pad, and became one of the most influential works associated with the Ray publishing tradition.

• Illustration and commercial printing

  Commercial colour and photographic plates

  U. Ray and Sons produced colour and monochrome plates for magazines, books, picture albums, catalogues, show cards, letterheads, and other commercial materials. Its process expertise enabled high-quality photographic reproduction for Bengali periodicals and cultural publications during the early twentieth century.

• 1927

  Wind up the original companyOther

  Background

  The firm had entered bankruptcy in 1926 after management and organisational difficulties following Sukumar Ray's death.

  Action taken

  The original U. Ray and Sons business was formally liquidated in January 1927.

  Aftermath

  The Garpar Road property passed to creditors. A related printing operation was reportedly revived under new ownership in 1929, but the original family firm did not resume.

  Source

• 1913

  Consolidate operations at Garpar RoadStrategy

  Background

  The growing family enterprise required premises capable of housing domestic, printing, typesetting, and blockmaking activities.

  Action taken

  The Ray family built and occupied an integrated residence and press at 100 Garpar Road in Calcutta.

  Aftermath

  The new site supported the firm's expansion into magazine and book publishing, including the launch of Sandesh.

  Source

• 1913

  Launch SandeshProduct launch

  Background

  The firm sought to use its printing and illustration capabilities in a recurring Bengali children's publication.

  Action taken

  Upendrakishore began publishing Sandesh, with Sukumar Ray as editor.

  Aftermath

  Sandesh became the best-known periodical associated with the firm and was later revived by Satyajit Ray in 1961.

  Source

• 1910

  Expand from blockmaking into publishingStrategy

  Background

  The firm had built its reputation through photographic reproduction and halftone blockmaking but also had direct access to the Ray family's writing and illustration.

  Action taken

  It published Tuntunir Boi, beginning a broader programme of children's and literary publishing.

  Aftermath

  The company increasingly operated as both a technical printing business and a publishing house.

  Source

1. 1U. Ray and Sonsen.wikipedia.org