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  1. #1
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    Default Ages of children in photograph

    Hello!

    I wonder if anybody would be able to assist in narrowing down a year for this family shot (there is no indicator of the photographer and the back is frustratingly covered with sellotape!

    The father in this picture was born in 1872, and the mother in 1871. It's probably worth noting that she was a second hand clothes dealer so I don't know how much this would have affected how up-to-date the fashion would have been.

    Girl top centre was born in 1895.
    Girl on the top right was born in 1901.
    Girl on the bottom left was born in 1904.
    Boy on bottom right was born in 1908.

    For the life of me, I really can't pinpoint the ages concretely - the boy for instance, is he 2 or is he 6?!

    Many thanks if you can offer any insight!


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  2. #2
    Valued member of Brit-Gen emmteeyess's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by theobald1990 View Post
    ...
    Girl top centre was born in 1895.
    Girl on the top right was born in 1901.
    Girl on the bottom left was born in 1904.
    Boy on bottom right was born in 1908.

    For the life of me, I really can't pinpoint the ages concretely - the boy for instance, is he 2 or is he 6?!
    I think you might be on a hiding to nothing with this, to get any accuracy with a year. The children could easily 'mature' at different rates and look older or younger than they really were, and wouldn't look like children today of the same ages.

    For no particular reason I'd offer 1916 - so the children could be 21, 15, 12, 8 - but it could be a year earlier or 1 or 2 later. Those guesses would be into WW1. Is that possible? What is the 'history' of the photo? Could it have been taken (say 1914) as a keepsake for an older son who joined up?

    Best of luck with any further answers.

    Cheers, MTS

  3. #3
    Valued member of Brit-Gen barbara lee's Avatar
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    Without looking at your dates I did a quick guess at 7, 10, 12 and 18. Then I looked at your dates and added them to my guessed ages, giving 1915, 1914, 1913 and 1913.
    Barbara

  4. #4
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    Thank you both for your input. Definitely no older brother at war, but you both thinking that the youngest child looks around 7-8 (I had no idea at all) would definitely make sense as the eldest daughter certainly looks around 18.

    I think I was thrown off by what appeared to be the Edwardian dress, but I guess a second hand clothes dealer living in the slums of Derby as she did would be pretty thrifty. The war seems a good fit.

  5. #5
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    The older girl has her hair up, which was a rite of passage at that time. You should be able to find some indication of the age at which this occurred, say 16? but the one next to her still has her hair down. pwholt

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