Saché, John Edward (fl. 1860-82), German commercial photographer working in India, believed to be Johann Edvart Zachert, born in 1824 in Prussian Poznań. Probably the same Saché who is recorded in Philadelphia in 1860, his first documented appearance in India was at an 1865 meeting of the Bengal Photographic Society, when his American work was displayed. The firm Saché & Westfield operated in Calcutta from 1865 to 1869, when Saché made a Himalayan tour. Subsequently a studio was opened in Nainital c.1870-1882, followed by further studios in Lucknow and Mussoorie. No records of Saché have been discovered after 1882. He produced topographical work covering major sites and towns in northern India, and studies of ‘Indian trades’; and although his work has been unfavourably compared with other commercial photographers such as Bourne, it displays a comprehensive understanding of the picturesque, and occasionally great originality. His sons Alfred and Edward were also photographers.
— Sophie C. Gordon
