‘Invalid Port’ available at R.J. Bolger’s, Bray, County Wicklow

Another workplace photograph, this time showing the staff outside R.J. Bolger’s grocer, 18 Main Street, Bray, County Wicklow. This image is very like a previous post which showed the workers at Hodgins and Sons, Nenagh, County Tipperary and it also dates from the 1930s.

The sign writing is excellent and you can just about glimpse the lace curtains in the upper windows. According to the 1901 census, Richard Joseph, lived over the shop with his wife, Lizzie May and two-year old daughter, Annie Mary.

What really captured my imagination was the elaborate window display which revealed the wide range of alcoholic beverages distributed by Gilbey’s wine merchants. These include Spey-royal scotch whiskey and my favourite, Invalid Port!

Young Dublin cricketers, 1860s cartes by Lauder Brothers

These early cricket-related photographs show two brothers, David and John Drummond, the sons of the wealthy businessman and philanthropist David Drummond. The portraits were taken in the mid-1860s when the photographic trade was thriving and the Lauder Brothers ran studios on both Sackville Street and Westmoreland Street. I love the elaborate backdrop with the stairs stretching into the distance. The backs of the cartes give different addresses although it is obvious that both photographs were taken in the same studio and at the same time.

I have been able to trace what happened to little David who became a renowned physician in England. He was born in 1852 and his obituary even mentions his love of cricket! I am not too sure what became of John. Their Rathgar home was called Dunfillan House and the conservatory, commissioned by their father, was recently renovated with assistance from the Irish Georgian society.

Both boys are wearing quite fancy outfits which may or may not be part of their school or cricket uniforms – they attended Rathmines School. I was able to locate a newspaper report on a cricket match which took place in Bray the 1st of October 1867 and in which David played a major part: “Rathmines School C.C. brought its season to a close on Saturday last by winning two signal victories… At Bray the Second Eleven encountered Bray College C.C., and won by 131 runs, Mr. David Drummond scoring 40 … Mr Drummond’s bowling excited general admiration.”

Irish Pavilion, World’s Fair, New York 1964

The commission for the Irish Pavilion at the 1964/65 World’s Fair in Flushing Meadows, New York was awarded to the Irish architect, Andrew Devane. An article which appeared in The Irish Times on the 12^th June 1963 assured the public that the Irish pavilion would “be unpretentious and neither excessively modernistic nor falsely traditional.” The complex in its entirety is depicted on a 5 penny Irish stamp.

Devane was assisted by the American designer, George Nelson and the wooden canopy is reminiscent of Nelson’s 1946 platform bench. The entrance, with its Liscannor slate façade was a popular spot in which to be photographed. This Irish-American lady was one of the ca. 3.8 million visitors to the Irish section and I love her pale green shift dress. The horizontal shadows create an interesting pattern on the slate wall adding a dappled effect to this 1964 kodacolor print.

Pet Pictures – Irish dog photographs 1870-1920

Stuffed dogs were often as used as studio props in the 19^th century although I am pretty sure that the animals featured in this post were alive when photographed.

There is something comical and slightly absurd about this image of a serious legal clerk called T.M. Barcroft and his dog! It was included in a photograph album compiled by the Foley family of Clontarf in the 1910s and 20s.

This early Dublin carte-de-visite features a nondescript looking dog whose owners obviously thought he was worthy of photographing. The card contains no additional information except for the photographer’s name and address, F.H. Mares, who worked from Grafton Street in the early 1860s and 70s.

This fashionable young lady was photographed along with her dog by the Leinster Photo Company of 39A Talbot Street, Dublin. I love the white feather boa! The photograph was posted from Tamworth, England to a friend in New Jersey in May 1910.

The photograph above includes both a baby and a dog and was taken at John J. Thompson in Omagh, County Tyrone. I wonder if the dog was jealous of the new arrival? Amazingly, the photographer has succeeded in getting all three to look at the camera. Note that the sitter’s feet are hidden behind a patterned cushion which blends in with the studio’s floor covering.

If you’d like to see more canine images, The Kennel Club’s exhibition of vintage dog photographs is showing in London until the 13^th of January 2012 and you can see some of them here.

I also recommend the following titles which show that the family pet was a favourite subject for photographers throughout the years: The dog observed: photography 1844-1983 by Ruth Silverman begins with anonymous American daguerreotypes of the 1850s before moving on to the work of big name photographers like André Kertész and Lisette Model whilst Catherine Johnson and William Wegman’s Dogs is a beautiful book of found photographs which were published by Phaidon in 2007.

Dublin winter wonderland! 1890s child portrait by Lauder Brothers

The chill in the air reminded me of this beautiful carte-de-visite showing a Dublin girl in her lavish winter outfit. The expression on her wise little face, peaking out from the large bonnet, makes me think that she might have been a tad precocious and spoilt!

The matching coat, muff and gaiters are made from a material which looks like the fake or fun furs which were popular during my childhood in the 1970s. In my attempt to identify the fabric, I received several suggestions as to what this material might be including an Astrakhan fur, a reversed shearling or a bouclè wool. In general, I find Noreen Marshall’s Dictionary of Children’s Clothes 1700s to Present to be very useful and the excellent photographs in this V&A publication make it a vital resource for the historian of children’s costume.

Lauder Brothers worked from 32 Westmoreland Street from the 1850s to 1900 although I think that this image dates from the later decades of their tenure at this premises. Edward Chandler included several of their card backs in his invaluable book Photography in Ireland: the Nineteenth Century and the example above matches those from the 1890s. I located a similar, although possibly later image, from a Romanian studio on an interesting blog called The Cabinet Card Gallery.

Where were you? Dublin street style in a 1950s snapshot

The monument, which is just visible in the background of this 1950s snapshot, allowed me to pinpoint the photograph’s exact location as being on Hawkins Street. The gothic revival and Celtic monument was erected ca.1906 to commemorate a Dublin Metropolitan Police Constable, Patrick Sheahan, who lost his life in the line of duty. The group stand at the rere of the faux-tudor Gas Company headquarters which was designed by Robinson Keefe. You can see some detailed photographs of it here.

This photograph was rescued from a skip by my good friend, Garry O’Neill, and features in his long awaited book on decades of Dublin street style entitled Where were you? It was published and designed by Niall McCormack of HiTone and will be launched tomorrow in the Gallery of Photography, Meeting House Square, Temple Bar.

On another note, I was delighted to be asked by the excellent Irish history blog Pue’s Occurrences to review a new photography book. Revolution: a photographic history of revolutionary Ireland, 1913-1923 includes some rarely seen images from private and public collections.

I also wrote a little piece for Stacy Waldman’s blog House of Mirth on my favourite Halloween photograph. Stacy’s gathered together some really amazing photographs from collectors and fans of vernacular photography including Barbara Levine, Ron Slattery and Robert E. Jackson.

As if this wasn’t enough photography related activity, I went to Après Paris at the Sugar Club last Thursday. This event was organised by PhotoIreland festival and featured up-dates on Paris Photo and talk of next year’s PhotoIreland festival which I am already looking forward to! 

Dublin Basketmakers photographed ca. 1900

Henry Dunbar based his business in a premises on O’Connell Street which had a long association with the photographic trade. Between 1859 and 1890, number 39 was the building from which Thomas Millard ran his photographic studio. Firstly in partnership as Simonton & Millard; then for a short period in the 1860s trading solely as Thomas Millard and finally working with J.V. Robinson between 1864 and 1889.

Mr Dunbar’s business was not as long-lasting. He appears at this address for the first time in 1889 and died on the 13^th December 1905 at the age of 54. The winding-up of his affairs was conducted by his son, Arthur Dunbar, who was a resident of Regent’s Square, York.

I know little more about Dunbar, except that his early adoption of the name O’Connell Street rather than Sackville Street is an indicator of nationalist leanings. In late 1884, the largely nationalist Dublin Corporation had voted to re-name the city’s main thoroughfare in honour of Daniel O’Connell, the champion of Catholic Emancipation. This was not to the liking of the majority of the street’s traders who got a court order preventing the name change. Dunbar was, of course, making a political point by his use of the street’s new name!

The verso of the cabinet card is nicely executed and alludes to the artistic nature of photography. The ‘photographer as artist’ is displayed alongside some typical studio props. This generic design was probably purchased from France or Germany which is where most photographers sourced their card backs.

The photograph itself provides a fascinating glimpse into the world of work during the period. Certain details are typical of Victorian or Edwardian tradesman, for example, the apron and white shirt sleeves. Most wear hats and have impressive moustaches. I love the individual who is posed in the act of ‘hammering’ a basket! Baskets were used to house and transport a wide variety of goods and as late as 1924, Dublin street directories listed nine basket-makers in the centre of the city.

Children and stuffed dog! Walshe family of Ballytore, Kildare ca.1885

This cabinet card shows a charming group photograph of the five Walshe children from Battlemount, Narragmore, Ballytore, County Kildare. The Lafayette studio’s rustic setting includes wooden steps and tufts of artificial grass and is completed by props such as a fishing net, basket, book and what has to be a stuffed dog!

The children are beautifully dressed as befits the family of a comfortable farmer from this prosperous county. The two girls to the front of the photograph wear velvet ruched dresses with beautiful smocking and buttons. The also wear fashionable lace-up boots. Both of the boys are dressed in matching suits with wide stripes and white collars. The elder girl wears a nautical dress and short hair which is perhaps an indication of a recent illness.

The village of Ballytore or Ballitore was the only planned Quaker village in Ireland and home to the ancestors of the explorer Ernest Shackleton. The census returns for 1901 and 1911 state that there were five children in the Walshe family and that their mother, Bridget, who was married in 1873 was widowed by 1901. It is likely that this photograph was taken in the mid-1880s when the youngest child, Michael (b.1881) was about five year’s old. 

 

 

 

The above photograph of the family home, Battlemount House was taken many years later and shows the now grown children with their mother. As in the earlier photograph, two of the daughters appear to be wearing identical outfits. Perhaps they were twins? I discovered that one of the daughters, Bridget, was to emigrate to South Africa, and this image might mark one of the last times that the family were to be together.

A newspaper report from August1922 shows that Michael was seeking compensation of £235, from the government, for the loss of his Ford car during the Civil War – an indicator that the family continued to be quite well-off!

 

1930s seaside fun! Snapshots developed by Belfast chemist

Sometimes mistakes make for the best photographs especially when the attempts to rectify them are as humorous as the one above. The tops of the heads of this seaside group were chopped off by the photographer only to be restored in this crude but highly effective manner. Someone has pencilled in the missing foreheads and hairstyles and the results are especially funny on the gentleman in the middle of the shot. The little girl with her bucket and spade is the only intact figure and appears to laugh mischievously at her older relations.                                                                                                                                        

This snapshot reminds me of a scene from RC Sherriff’s The Fortnight in September (1931) one of my favourite recent reads from the excellent Persephone Books. The novel relates in beautiful detail the experiences of a family on a seaside holiday in Bognor Regis between the World Wars. It includes a magical scene where they collect their holiday snapshots from the local pharmacist. They were presented with six snapshots which must have been a standard number of exposures during this period. The Kodak album which houses the above photograph also held that number of prints and the following ad from the 1930s records the move to eight exposures! In the digital age, this appears like a ridiculously small number of photographs with which to record a holiday.

I bought this little album alongside five others in the same format for only $9.99 and can’t believe no-one else wanted them! All originated from the Belfast area and the Kodak verichrome film stickers which appear at the back of them are nice little pieces of 1930s ephemera. I also noticed that there is an interesting article by Lucy Curzon in the latest issue of ‘History of Photography’ on the Mass Observation’s documentary photographs of 1930s holiday makers in Blackpool which ties in nicely with this topic. 

Carbon print of St. Patrick’s Well, Clonmel, County Tipperary

This postcard of St. Patrick’s Well, Clonmel, County Tipperary, was sent to an Irish emigrant in Philadelphia ca. 1905. It was printed in Saxony, Germany and published by the large firm of Woolstone Brothers of London as part of their Milton Series. The warm tones of this print are the result of a carbon process which really suits the natural subject matter. If you’d like to try carbon printing, here is a link to a project which uses the process and provides detailed instructions on the materials required.