An original 6.5x4.5" antique photo from an album of antique travel photos from early 20th century UK travelers that we acquired from the UK estate of the Billie Love Historical Collection.

* We always automatically combine orders for shipping, so add as many photos as you’d like to your order!

Photo Overview

Barefoot children and rural distillers pose around an illicit pot still hidden deep in the scrub at Colinamuck, County Galway, Ireland, as several men tend the fire beneath the large homemade poteen distilling apparatus in this atmospheric outdoor scene dated 1919, capturing a rare candid view of traditional Irish moonshine production in the west of Ireland.

In early 20th century rural Ireland, poteen (also spelled poitín) was an illegal but culturally important homemade spirit, often distilled in remote bogs and woodland to avoid the excise men; County Galway had a long reputation for its secret stills and heavy government crackdowns after World War I. Images that openly show a working poteen still with women or children present are particularly scarce, making this a powerful social history document of post-war Irish life and the struggle between poverty, tradition and the law - secure this evocative antique Irish photograph now before another collector finds it.

Text Present

Back, upper left to center:
"Poteen Distilling
Colinamuck
1919"

Back, lower right:
"County
Galway"

Print analysis:
Silver gelatin print on period fiber paper with no modern printing dots visible, and handwritten pencil caption indicating specific place and year suggest this is an original darkroom photograph made from the negative within a few years of exposure. Overall tonality, edge wear and backing are consistent with a c1919-early 1920s production, so this is best classified as a Type 1 original photo.

Condition: Photo is in fair to excellent antique condition. Please see photos for any tears, folds, smudges, or other age damage that may be present.