People get in touch with the Shirley Baker Estate for a variety of reasons. Sometimes it’s to let them know they’ve spotted a familiar face in one of Shirley’s photographs, which is always a fascinating and emotional moment.
But a recent communication regarding a cat photo was one that caused much amusement – and has also sparked a search for a mystery Manchester character.
It all started when Shirley Baker fan Peter Holt emailed in with a request. Peter’s girlfriend Rosemary had a birthday coming up and he’d decided he’d like to surprise her with a print or book by the photographer. Shirley Baker cat photos are of particular interest.
![Shirley Baker photography Tomcat, Manchester 1981](https://shirleybakerphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/ShirleyBaker_Tomcat-768x1024.jpg)
Karl Coombes Tomcat, taken in Manchester, 1981
The couple were particularly fond of an image of Shirley’s (above) taken in 1981, featuring a cat staring into the camera; a wall behind is emblazoned with the graffiti “Karl Coombes Tomcat”.
Peter and Rosemary visited their local pet rescue centre in order to adopt a male cat but in the end returned home with two, a brother and a sister. And as Shirley’s cat photo was such a favourite of the couple, they named their two new moggies Shirley Baker and Karl Coombes. The smaller of the two in the photo is called Shirley.
![Karl Coombes and Shirley Baker cats pose on a table](https://shirleybakerphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/cat-named-sbaker-768x1024.jpg)
Karl Coombes and Shirley Baker pose
for the camera
What a cute pair they are. The Shirley Baker Estate is loving the tribute and are sure that Shirley would approve of her namesake.
![Shirley Baker collage](https://shirleybakerphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/SB_Karl_Coombes-collage-1024x768.jpg)
However Karl Coombes remains an elusive figure. A bit of detective work shows that graffiti with the names Karl, Coombesy (and Janet) and Tom Cat pops up on several images Shirley took at a similar time. A collage of photos is shown above – click to enlarge – and we hope we may yet discover the identity of these colourful Manchester characters from years past.
Tomcat by Shirley Baker image info: taken June 1981 – A Saturday afternoon – clearance area Salford Dockland. Shot with Pen F 1/2 frame 25mm lens, XPI film