U. Ray and Sons was a printing and publishing concern based in Bengal, associated with the family enterprise of Upendrakishore Ray Chowdhury, a pioneering figure in Indian printing technology, children's literature, and illustration. The firm is historically significant for its role in the development of half-tone block making and modern printing techniques in India during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Type | Printing and publishing firm |
| Founder | Upendrakishore Ray Chowdhury |
| Industry | Printing, block making, publishing |
| Headquarters | Calcutta (Kolkata), Bengal |
| Associated publication | Sandesh (children's magazine) |
Background
Upendrakishore Ray Chowdhury (1863–1915) was a writer, illustrator, technologist, and publisher whose work substantially advanced the craft of book and periodical production in India. His experiments with screen processes, half-tone blocks, and colour printing were published in technical journals abroad and earned him recognition as one of the early Indian innovators in graphic reproduction. The family business that came to be identified with his name carried this technical and editorial tradition forward.
Activities
The firm produced printing blocks and undertook printing and publishing work, including the production of illustrated books for children and the family-run periodical Sandesh, which Upendrakishore launched in 1913. After his death, the editorial and publishing legacy passed through his sons, most prominently Sukumar Ray, the writer of nonsense verse and editor of Sandesh, and later influenced subsequent generations of the Ray family, including the filmmaker Satyajit Ray, who revived Sandesh in the 1960s.
Significance
The enterprise represents an early Indian example of an integrated creative and technical operation that combined authorship, illustration, block making, and printing under one roof. Its work helped set standards for illustrated children's publishing in Bengali and contributed to the broader Bengal Renaissance ecosystem of letters, art, and small-press publishing.
Related topics
- Upendrakishore Ray Chowdhury
- Sukumar Ray
- Satyajit Ray
- Sandesh (magazine)
- Bengali literature
- Printing in India
References
- Wikidata entity: Q7863533