How do we pursue historical subjects marginalized by the traditional historical archive? This paper explores photography as a medium which may enable us to reframe the picture we have of the past from traditional historical records. Focusing on photographs taken of women at work in the Bombay Presidency’s second city, Ahmedabad, we consider the ethical possibilities of this extraordinary modern material artifact and its implications for new historical narratives.Dr. Lisa Trivedi is Professor of History at Hamilton College in Clinton, New York, USA.