When I bought this cabinet card a few weeks ago I was happy to believe the online seller’s description which stated that the image originated from Queenstown (now Cobh), County Cork. I imagined this dapper pair stepping off an ocean liner to have their photograph taken whilst en route to an adventure in some exotic location.
I set about researching the studio using the trade and street directories for Cork city and county which are available through the public library service’s website but could find no trace of a Healey studio in Queenstown. Upon closer inspection I came to the realisation that there is actually nothing on the card (front or back) to indicate that it was taken in Cork!
Further research revealed that a photographer of this name worked in Sussex, England, for a period in the 1880s before heading off to South Africa in 1892. Perhaps Queenstown, South Africa is where this photograph was taken?
I suppose the moral of the story is that online sellers may not always undertake thorough searches but I was more than willing to believe it was an Irish picture. I didn’t pay very much for the photograph and it is still an excellent image which poses many questions. Why were they dressed alike? Who were they? Look at those great moustaches!
A website on the subject of Sussex postcards does mention that Healey moved around a lot and that there is no known address for him between 1911 and 1919 so he might have been in Cork after all!
Jacolette: 