 
Dating photographs |
Photographs can be a great source of enjoyment and exhilaration especially if they bring to light family faces, not seen before, from a bygone era,
How many of us have had old boxes, paper bags or old hand-me-down photo albums given to us after being found in the dusty garage, or way up in a high cupboard, discovered as we pack up to shift house, etc. Many a story could be told of such exquisite finds.
But, oh, where are the names, places and dates!!??
Didn't anyone tell them to write this precious information on the back or under the photos in the albums or were they, 100 years ago, like us today, racing here and there wondering how to fit everything they had to do into their day and was identifying photos the last thing on there mind!!??
Dealing with the identification of faces and places can be a long process but dating photographs, although it can be tricky there are some helpful avenues out there in the world.
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20th Century photos can be more of a challenge as the developing has moved along with the technology, from individual photographic studios to mass production developing. Still we all like a challenge don't we or we wouldn't be in the business of locating centuries-old relatives or that skeleton in the closet!? We hope that you will find these hints below a help in your quest to date those precious photographs.
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Oh, and by the way - don't forget to add names, dates and place information to your own photographs ready for the next generations ahead!
Websites
There are many websites which give hints on dating photos. Just do a search for "Dating photographs" and check out the list. Look for sites that give a time period around the century you are looking at
Books
Visit your local library and check out the period books on fashion and shoes. Some books have fashion laid out in centuries and decades making it relatively easy to arrive at a approximate time period, However, caution should be used as this can only be a guide as people may or may not have been fashion conscience or they may have been thrifty and hung onto their items of clothing past the usual "used by" date. But books can be useful to get some indication of the possible decade that the photo was taken and that's better than nothing.
Remember to make a note near the photos as to how you ascertained that date, so that others will know how you arrived at that date.
Other
people's photos
Other relatives may have photos from the same era so be sure to give them a visit and by comparing the items of clothing, buildings structures, age of the people, etc, some useful information may be obtained. Again this is only to help give some approximation of dates
Use a
magnifying glass
Never underestimate what information may be gleaned from the photo using a magnifying glass. Carefully move across the photo with the glass Some glasses have several sized lens within the one glass which can be helpful to enlarged the detail even further.
Scour for business names or dates on old building so you can do a business directory search which may help to narrow the date of existence of the building and so narrow the date when the photo was possibly taken. Look closely at the detail on the clothing, shoes, hats, handbags, men's suits, ties, etc
Edit
your photos
By scanning and then editing your photos you any be able to pick up details that are otherwise indecipherable. For example adjusting the "Level" , i.e. the contrast or brightness, extra detail may become visible. Adjusting the "Size" may enable you to zoom in more closely and identify extra detail.
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This is not an exhaustive list, we would welcome any further suggestions, just email us, see below. |
Email -milduragenealogy@gmail.com
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Established 1 May 2001 - Updated 6 Aug 2008
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