Austin R.I.P. 1872, Dublin.

This might look like a prop from a horror film but it is actually a carte-de-visite by an unnamed Dublin studio promoting the business of John Coates, Monumental Works, 173 Great Brunswick street (now Pearse Street). Coates set up in business in 1862 and moved further along the street in 1888 to 26 Brunswick Street. This later address was next door to the firm owned by the father of the 1916 leader, Patrick Pearse. An outline of the street’s development and the Pearse business is available here. I’ve spoken to Brian Crowley, Collections curator, Pearse Museum and Kilmainham Gaol, and author of Patrick Pearse, A Life in Pictures who confirmed that several similar businesses were located on Brunswick Street. The proximity to Westland Row and Amiens Street railway stations facilitated the movement of the heavy raw materials and gravestones around the country.

I like any sort of occupational studio photography (see another example from my collection here) and this one is particularly apt for Halloween night. The photographer has failed to notice that the backdrop behind the headstone has slipped which somewhat distracts the viewer from the monument. Did Austin die in 1872? We’ll never know.