Patrick Carson was born in Bombay and fortunate enough to have later worked there for three years sealing a deep affection for that city, the country and the amazing buildings both Raj Victorian and indigenous Moghul, Hindu and other styles to be found there. He returned to UK in 1967 and for the next thirty years applied himself to the business of earning a living, raising a family and obtaining professional qualifications as an accountant leaving little time for anything else until 1996 when he made the first of many pleasurable visits to India see more of the country. As regards Bombay itself, he assembled a fairly comprehensive collection photographs and other information into a privately printed book for his fellow Bombayphiles.
When Patrick married a descendant of Thomas Potter in 1973, the Potter story also became part of his life. He set himself to work through as many of the "Potter list" places as possible to photograph and record for himself and his family this wonderful inheritance.
Volume I of Thomas Potter: Victorian Craftsman (2018) was described by the Victorian Society as "an unusually comprehensive compendium of photographs and notes on the work of a single Victorian craftsman" (The Victorian, No. 60, March 2019, p. 34). That volume alone ran to 500 pages, and it was followed in 2022 by Volume 2, which adds another 220 pages, and includes work as far away as Sri Lanka. Both volumes have been privately printed for the benefit of the family.
Patrick modestly calls himself an amateur in the fields of history, architecture and design, claiming only to "know and enjoy what I like" (which is what really matters!).
Created 9 September 2020