This highly unusual group of pictures were all taken in Ireland by medical student J.J. Clarke between 1890 and 1910. Clarke came to Dublin from Castleblaney in 1897. His images have a spontaneity and “snapshot” quality which is very rare in photographs of this time.
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All images (c) National Library of Ireland.
Thank you to Donald Lush and Tony Canavan.
With the light fragmentation could she be riding back to the future……
…all she has to do is reach 88mph
I really REALLY love these, some of them are so touching, and the snapshot quality…how did he achieve that? I really want to keep some of them…how do I do that? the one with the lady with the bicycle, it’s like a back in time version of me…
Here’s a link to J.J. Clarke’s full collection, Von…
These are wonderful. I love the Punch and Judy show!
Thanks for that link Chris – the ‘woman on a wall’ is gorgeous……..
Yes, she is…
These look so candid for the time. Like someone had mentioned earlier, they have have this uncanny “snap-shot quality.” I’m not used to seeing old b&w photos where subjects aren’t stiffly posed. How did this photographer do it? I didn’t know they had film that fast back then. At first, many shots seem amateur; like someone who’s gotten their first drugstore instant camera but with them come these accidental(?) moments of genius. The “woman on the wall” looks, for a fleeting second, a Victorian Venus di Milo.
Hi Chris, I think at least a couple of the photos were not taken in Dublin but in Rhyl in north Wales.The child on pram and the Punch and Judy shots both show the buildings on the east and west parade in the background,the girl on the bike shows what appears to be the pier entrance on Rhyl prom entrance booths (shape of windows)flag poles (but could be somewhere else I suppose).
Regards Trevor
Love the images .. but dispute the copyright claim. These images should be fully in the public domain. Scans are not derivative works.
This is like watching tumblr in the 1900s would have been like
No kidding, I love it. I do agree with dexotaku though.
All I see is rich English, and a few of their Irish slaves
Sounds like you don’t know your Irish history Jacky – have you ever even been here? Fantastic photos.
Tremendous photographs…takes me back to some old photo’s that my late mother had when she was alive of Derry, however, when she died, my father burnt them as not to be reminded of her & the past…as he said, that her picture of her is in his mind forever, & that will never change.
Tho’ i still think it was a shame to have burnt them, as i have nothing left of her memory, except what i can recall of her.