« The Ruins »

If unanswered questions bother you, photo collecting is not for you. Most antique photos are unsolved mysteries in monochrome.

How many photos have you taken that are identified? You know what they are because you took them for your own reasons, but if you don't write a subject or date on the back (use pencil; I have repaired enough ink stains from the faces of photos to last me the rest of my life, and I plan for it to be a long one) you are creating a problem for someone else when you no longer remember or aren't around to answer questions. That is not a crime on the books as far as I know, but it is a surefire recipe for frustration.

In the last 20 years I have photographed most of the foremost cathedrals, abbeys and castles in England, Scotland and Ireland (yeah, I know, my travels are boring affairs), but this ruined church isn't ringing any visual bells (and I have a pretty reliable camera in my brain) or it is not in the venerable isles at all.

If this large cabinet print is contemporary with the carriage then it might be at least 150 years old, but there is no way to be certain. The figure, who moved slightly during the exposure, wears a white hat that we often connect with the european colonial period. The only thing we can say with any confidence is that it was likely taken by a tourist as a souvenir of travels. That is about it.