Dating Old Photographs

[Keith Hobbs]

I need some help with the dating of old photographs. Could anyone provide the address of a web site or the title a book that could help.

Keith

[Procat]

I need some help with the dating of old photographs. Could anyone provide the address of a web site or the title a book that could help.

Keith

Hi Ken

There are a number of books and web sites that may assist.

I just did a google seach for the term dating old photographs and it came up with 400,000+ hits including web sites that appear to offer a lot of information.

Regards,

[Nadine Harmon]

Keith,

I found directories very helpful. Some of my old photos have addresses on them. By looking at the directories for different years, I was able to tell which address the photographer used in which year.
Hope this helps.
Nadine

[Keith Hobbs]

Procat and Nadine,

Thanks to you both, I will use your suggestions.

Keith

[ziksby]

Hi Brett
I visited your website after browsing this forum. I have J W Price in my tree, but need to check my facts, as I have him married twice. I may be wrong; will let you know.

[Brett]

Hi Roger,

My research is very much "provisional", so you could well be right! I'd appreciate any further information on JW Price that you can dig up.

[Peggy]

I've visited many of those 400000 sites. <g> And some are great. But how do I know, for instance, that the dress worn in the photo was the style for that year? Might it not have been a couple of years behind the fashion? Nothing seems to match up exactly to examples I see. And I have a photo of a little girl that has me really confused. She is dressed as a mini-adult, and I can't make even a wild guess about her age. (It is important, as it could help to establish her date of emigration.)

If there is anyone who is good at this, and would be willing to have a look, I have the pix posted on the web, and can provide directions to them. Or, I can e-mail jpgs. (I'll never figure out how to put then in a forum message! - - - all I see when Rod does that is a link!)

[Brett]

Hi Peggy,

If you post a link to the web page with your photo, I'd be happy to have a look at it. I should warn you in advance, however, that dating photographs of children is fraught with difficulties.

Regards and best wishes, Brett

[Peggy]

Thank you very much, Brett!

The photos, from the studio of H. J. Whitlock, 11 New St., Birmingham, are numbers 9 & 10 (Julia Farrell & Sarah Simpson) in the first Gallery

I don't have the original photos, only copies. The girl in #9 was born 13 July 1861. Any guess about her age in the photo would be helpful. I haven't a clue.

Peggy

[Peggy]

Thank you, Brett! Very helpful! My problem is that my best evidence indicates that the girl was sent to the US in the fall of 1869. So she couldn't have been more than age 8 and a month or two. If her photo was taken at the same time, the mother would have been close to age 38. I thought the photos might have been taken because of the coming separation, but what I was seeing on photo web pages suggested a slightly later date, and that had me worried. If 1869 is possible, that's good news.

Another question, if I may. They went and sat (or stood <g>) for the photos. I've read that there were often a dozen copies. Was more than one taken, and the customer selected the best? How long did it take to get your photos?

Gratefully,

Peggy