In Honor Of St. Patrick's Day

Shades honors St. Patrick's Day and joins the parade with, what else, two old photographs from Cork and Belfast.

The first photograph was produced by Monsieur A. Sauvy of the Paris Photographic Studio, 64a Patrick Street, Cork. It appears to be a wedding photograph of John and Dizzie Moore, ca. 1879.

Monsieur Sauvy bills himself as an art photographer and an artist in color. Well, you be the judge.

~ John and Dizzie Moore ~
Sauvy - The Paris Studio
64a Patrick Street
Cork
Cabinet Card

Poor Dizzie doesn't look quite right. Perhaps she, or the photographer, felt the white or light colored gown made her look fat. Dizzie's arms and waist have definitely seen the retoucher's brush and have been reduced rather amateurishly. A close examination of the photograph shows that both John and Dizzie have had their eyebrows touched up. I wouldn't call this art much less artistic, but then perhaps the word "Paris" alone brought customers to the studio.

Often the reverse of a photograph is as interesting as the image itself.

The advertisement for the Paris Photographic Studio is contained on the reverse of the card as is the identification. The advertisement is very tastefully done, unlike the photograph itself.

I have not investigated the photograph. A cursory search found the following advertisement in the British Medical Journal of 1879.

PARIS PHOTOGRAPHIC STUDIO, 64A, Patrick Street, Cork. - Monsieur A. SAUVY has been able to produce charming Photographic Groups of the Members of the British Medical Association during their Visit to CORK, and offer them at the merely nominal price of 2s. 6d. each.

Well, you know what they say; "If you can't be good, be enterprising."

~ Young Girl ~
Abernethy
29 High St.
Belfast
Carte-de-Visite

Photographer's Imprint

William Abernethy started his first photographic studio in Belfast in 1885. William claimed to have photographed four generations of the Royal Family. His son, Harold, photographed the Prince of Wales, later to become the Duke of Windsor.

At one point in his career, William had seven studios through out the province; he and his assistants were known to average three hundred client photographs per day.

In 1900, William Abernathy was honored with a Royal Warrant in Belfast, as photographer to Her Majesty, Queen Victoria. He photographed her during the Royal visit to Dublin in April 1900.

Queen Victoria either presumed preparing for, or recovering from, her grand Dublin review in 1900

Queen Victoria was never particularly enthusiastic about her kingdoms of the “Celtic fringe.” During her sixty-four year reign, she spent seven years in Scotland, seven weeks in Ireland, and seven nights in Wales.

It must have been exceedingly difficult to obtain a Royal Warrant in Ireland or Wales. Mr. Abernethy was very fortunate.

Sources:

Ulster Ancestree

Reconciling the Celt: British National Identity, Empire, and the 1911 Investiture of the Prince of Wales
John S. Ellis, The Journal of British Studies, Vol. 37, No. 4 (Oct., 1998), p. 391; online JSTOR http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0021-9371
(199810)37%3A4%3C391%3ARTCBNI%3E2.0.CO%3B2-U
accessed 15 March 2008.

Photographs:

Dizzie and John Moore. Cabinet Card. Sauvy. ca. 1897. Cork. Privately held by the footnoteMaven, Preston, Washington. 2009.

Young Girl. Carte-de-Visite. Abernethy. Unknown. Belfast. Privately held by the footnoteMaven, Preston, Washington. 2009.