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 their 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.
19th Century photos
Although a challenge, they can often be
identified by their size, paper or card they
were printed on,
the technique used to print them, their type of borders, developer's
information on the front or reverse side of the photo, whether it
was in a postcard format, whether colour was used, etc.
20th Century photos
These
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.
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 books on period 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 in the future you and 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.
This is not an exhaustive list, we would welcome
any further suggestions,
please Contact us.
HINTS
