United Kingdom. A Raf No.110 Squadron "Hyderabad Squadron" Airco Dh.9A Aircraft Photograph

Great Britain; Black and white, gloss finish, illustrating a two-seater Airco Dh.9A aircraft in an open field, with a canvas cover draped behind, the left side at the front of the aircraft inscribed in white text "PRESENTS.......HIS HIGHNESS THE NIZAM OF HYDERABAD. / HYDERABAD. No 11.", one airman seated in the front seat behind the machine gun, while another is standing in the seat behind him, eight airmen pictured at the right standing next to the tail of the aircraft, with a roundel and an "M" immediately to the left clearly visible behind them, the photograph in a period wooden frame, with a "T. Eaton Co." label affixed to the brown paper backer, 218 mm (w) x 168 mm (h), a few marks evident on the group of airmen, fraying present on the paper backer, light wear on the frame, near extremely fine.

Footnote: His Exalted Highness (H.E.H) Nawab Sir Mir Osman Ali Khan Siddiqi, Bayafandi Asaf Jah VII GCSI GBE (born Mir Osman Ali Khan Bahadur) (April 6, 1886 - February 24, 1967), was the last Nizam (or ruler) of the Princely State of Hyderabad and Berar. He ruled Hyderabadbetween 1911 and 1948, until it was annexed by India. He was styled as His Exalted Highness H.E.H The Nizam of Hyderabad. Later, he was made the Rajpramukh of Hyderabad State on January 26, 1950 and continued until October 31, 1956, after which the state was partitioned on linguistic basis and became part of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra. He built the Hyderabad House in Delhi, now used for diplomatic meetings by the Government of India. In 1937, he was on the cover of Time Magazine, labelled as the richest man in the world. Celebrity Net Worth also ranked him as one of the top ten wealthiest persons of all time in its inflation-adjusted list. The Nizam's vast inheritance was accumulated as mining royalties apart from its land revenue. Hyderabad State in British India was the only supplier of diamonds for the global market in the eighteenth century. He acceded as the Nizam of Hyderabad upon the death of his father in 1911. The state of Hyderabad was the largest of the princely states in pre-independence India. With an area of 86,000 square miles (223,000 km²), it was roughly the size of the present-day United Kingdom. Its ruler was the highest-ranking prince in India, was one of only five princes entitled to a 21-gun salute, held the unique title of "Nizam", and was created "His Exalted Highness" and "Faithful Ally of the British Crown" after the First World War due to his financial contribution to the British Empire's war effort. (for example, No. 110 Squadron RAF's original complement of Airco DH.9A aircraft were Osman Ali's gift. Each aircraft bore an inscription to that effect, and the unit became known as the "Hyderabad Squadron"). He also paid for a Royal Australian Navy vessel, the N-class destroyer, HMAS Nizam commissioned in 1940. (C:44)