Robert French - Egyptian Arch, Newry, Co. Down, circa 1905

This photo was taken probably by Robert French, chief photographer of William Lawrence Photographic Studios of Dublin. There are fragmentary posters under the arch. ..From what I can make out, the furthest one has CATT... perhaps a Cattle Mart? But I can definitely make out May, and if it wasn't for a pesky outcrop of rock, we might actually have a year! Unforunately can't make sense of the other poster, as it has folded back on itself, and the one beneath it is not clear either! :(..There are 3 children under the arch. Ethereal boy at extreme right moved twice, so we've two ghosty boys for him... Oh, and we have telegraph wires if that's a help!..You can compare this view of the Egyptian Arch with its companion photo ( nlireland/7499763292 ) taken approximately 85 years later as part of the Lawrence Photographic Project 1990/1991, where one thousand photographs from the Lawrence Collection in the National Library of Ireland were replicated a hundred years later by a team of volunteer photographers, thereby creating a record of the changing face of the selected locations all over Ireland...For further information on the Lawrence Photographic Project, read all about it on our NLI Blog ( 2012/04/13/then-then-and-now-photographic-projects/ ) ...Date: Circa 1905?..NLI Ref.: L_ROY_08886 ( vtls000040662 )