Griva

We all have at least a dozen old family photos in our collections that were never properly labeled with identifying information. Unfortunately, such images may hold a little value to dealers and collectors as antique artifacts, but in their current state they hold almost no value to you and I as genealogists and family historians. While it may never be possible to completely identify or accurately date these images, there is usually hope for achieving at least partial success. So, don’t despair and throw those photos away, or let them go for a few pennies at your next yard sale. This article is intended to provide useful tips and hopeful encouragement.

Ideally, each photo in our collection should be “tagged” with the who, where, when and why of the image. For example, a portrait of “Aunt Edna” should logically be inscribed on the back in pencil with Edna’s full name, the date of the photograph (approximate if not precise), where it was taken and, if relevant, why it was taken or on what occasion. Similarly, family snapshots should bear the names of the subjects, listed in a manner that will be intelligible to future generations – i.e. “left to right” or “clockwise.” The occasion might be “Colorado vacation,” “Smith family reunion,” or “Shaw-Peebles wedding reception.”

For images missing the who, when, where and why, there are probably clues that will help you make reasonable deductions over time. The secrets to success are familiar to the disciplined genealogist or family historian – systematic research methods, persistence, and a little luck. In the case of old photos, the clues are revealed either by either the artifact, the image, or most commonly both.

The Artifact

Clues revealed by the artifact refer to the physical characteristics of the actual photographic object, including any associated case, frame, mount or album:

• Estimate the date of the artifact by determining the photographic technique used to produce it. Since the advent of the daguerreotype in 1839, technological progress has been fairly swift, meaning that most processes were only popular for about ten years or so. Remember the scalloped edges of snapshots printed in the fifties? Remember the early Polaroid prints that needed to be coated for permanence? How about stereo slides from the forties? The same is true of earlier photographs. The first commercially viable photographs were daguerreotypes – unique and remarkably high resolution images produced by exposing a polished copper plates that has been coated with light sensitive silver nitrate. After the unexposed silver was dissolved and the image chemically fixed, it was mounted in a small decorative case. Daguerreotypes were popular from the time of their introduction until about 1860. The ambrotype, popular from about 1855 to 1870, resembles its predecessor, the daguerreotype, except that the image was produced on a less reflective glass plate and mounted in a case against a black background. The introduction (1847) and subsequent refinement of glass plate negatives made multiple paper prints possible. An early form of paper print was the carte de visite (CDV), a paper photo mounted on cardboard measuring approximately 2 ½ by 4 inches, popular in the 1860s and 1870s. Its successor was the cabinet card, measuring approximately 4 ½ by 6 ½ inches, popular from about 1870 until the turn of the century. Meanwhile, the economical and popular tintype (which was not tin, but iron), was introduced about 1870 and could still be found being ginned out at carnivals and county fairs until the 1930s. While using photographic processes to help date images can become quite technical, it is usually not too hard to come close. Check out a book on the history of photography, and you will become familiar with the basics in just a few hours. If you’re stumped, try asking the curator of a local museum collection or a conservator employed by our local historical society.

While formal studio portraits may not identify the date or subject of the picture, they regularly identify themselves and their location. Using standard genealogical tools such as city directories, census enumerations, newspapers, and business records, a photographer and his studio can often be associated with a specific timeframe, and occasionally narrowed to within a year or two. Also, pay attention to the typeface and printed borders used by photographic studios on their prints. A graphic arts history textbook can probably help you link the studio’s logo or font style to a particular period, whether it be the Eastlake style of the 1880s or the art deco style of the 1930s.

In the twentieth century, photo processors have routinely marked the back of their pictures with batch numbers, store numbers and other order information that may offer useful clues. Identical batch numbers found on images of the same size and shape help associate pictures with the same family and help provide a chronological reference point, especially when they are compared to other photos that have already been identified.

In the early days of photography, most prints were “contact prints” made by exposing sensitized paper that is in direct contact with the negative. Because enlargements did not become common until the century, most early professional cameras were large format “view cameras” exposing negatives that were 4x5 inches or even 8x10 inches in size. The popular 35mm format, introduced in the thirties, yields a frame size that is 21mm by 36 mm, and prints that are proportional in size. The medium format 2 ¼ inch square image also emerged in the 1930s. The point here is that the relative proportions of an uncropped print or slide may be of specific help in associating it with a particular photographic format or timeframe. If you are lucky enough to have the negative of an image and not just the print, you have additional evidence.

Frequently, where an image is found relative to other images can be exceedingly important. Photograph albums and scrapbooks are rarely assembled in purely random order. They are usually organized chronologically, and may be clustered by event, family or some other theme that reflects the purpose and intent of the compiler. Even a shoe box of old pictures can have a method to its madness. It may sound obvious, but you are not likely to find pictures of your paternal ancestors in a collection that belonged to a maternal ancestor. So, if at all practical, keep albums and collections together, in order to preserve as much contextual evidence as possible.

Just as antiques are often appraised on the basis of their provenance , consider where your photos came from, and in whose care they have been since they were originally produced. So also, consider these factors also when evaluating the accuracy of inscriptions and handwritten notations appended to the backs of photographs … just as we genealogists assess the reliability of the “informants” we find listed on death certificates and other vital records.

The Image

Examine the image itself, without regard to the artifact or the physical state in which the image is found. Often, the image will yield many contextual references that will help you identify and date it.

Absent other clues, the fashions and hairstyles of photographic subjects alone can often be dated within 5 or 10 years. Compare your photos to images (in your own collection or elsewhere) that have already dated and identified with precision. There are an increasing number of books being written on the subject of historical fashion and photography, notably during the Victorian and Edwardian eras.

Similarly, the surrounding architecture and furnishings depicted in your images can help establish an approximate date before which it was unlikely that a picture was taken. There are many guidebooks in publication that are designed to help us laymen identify styles and time periods. If specific buildings, streets, landmarks, signs and movie marquees appear in your photos, public records, newspapers, as well as historic photo collections can help narrow the date.

Automobile styles and modes of transportation are highly useful points of reference. Sometimes, you can magnify the year and state of an automobile license plate found in the background of your photo. (I use my scanner and the zoom feature of my photo editing program to help me get in close.) A search of DMV records might even disclose the name of the licensee that year!

Dating family snapshots can also be narrowed by looking for seasonal clues, such as Christmas trees, Easter bonnets, bathing costumes and football uniforms. And if your photo collection is like mine, our ancestors seemed especially fond of recording the effects of hurricanes, tornadoes, and snowstorms. With the help of newspaper accounts and almanacs, these events can often be dated with precision.

Look for family members being photographed for key religious and cultural events. First Holy Communion for Roman Catholics normally occurs about age 10, and Jewish bar mitzvahs and bat mitzvahs around age 13. Hispanic families have traditionally celebrated the fifteenth birthday of young ladies, in much the same way as families in the Northeast would host Sweet Sixteen parties.

Careful examination of images may also divulge other clues. Are there telephone and power lines in the picture that could not have existed prior to a given date? Are there dateable gifts unwrapped underneath the Christmas tree? Does the shadow of the photographer suggest that he is looking down into the viewfinder of an old box camera? Are there other framed photographs or diplomas displayed in the background of the image that provide leads to identity or date?

Take care not to be fooled by photographic deception, whether it be playful or purposeful. Don’t ignore the possibility that the image you are viewing may be a copy of an earlier original. Or it may be a collage of several images taken at different times. Or it may be a more recent photo that was staged to appear old by using costumes, props and techniques that are suggestive of an earlier era.

Summing Up

Using contextual references to help date and identify photos is an ongoing process. Learning an image’s date helps to narrow the identity of the subject and vice versa. By sharing copies of your pictures with other family members, you may be able to enlist their help in identifying them, while simultaneously assisting them in the accurate identifying and labeling their photos.

Personally, I have found it useful to construct a “family timeline” that helps me identify and date my photos. You can begin by using loose-leaf pages labeled by year. Using your other genealogical records, note the family events – births, deaths, marriages, graduations, school and sports activities, vacations -- that took place that year. As you review the photos in your collection that are already dated and identified, add that information to the timeline. You will be surprised how quickly the timeline fleshes out and how it improves your ability to date and identify other lost images. I have computerized my family timeline using MS-Excel, which enables me to search and sort my data, and have begun to cross-reference the timeline to the actual photos in my collection.

As I work with the photos in my collection, until I am fairly certain of the who, when, where, and why of the image, I use 3M Post-it Notes ™ to record my tentative conclusions and hypotheses. The 3M Company assures me that the adhesive will not damage the backs of even vintage photos, but warns us never to affix anything to the emulsion side of the image.

Finally, don’t forget to label your contemporary photos as soon as they come back from the processor! You may be depriving your descendants of the fun associated with dating and identifying old images, but you’ll be saving them a lot of time and trouble.