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Our photo dating expert, Jayne Shrimpton, analyses your family photos.
Tim Ryeland sent us his photo and asked:
‘I was wondering if you could advise the timeframe within which this photograph was taken. A date estimate would go a long way towards us being able to identify the people in the picture. I have my suspicions, but don’t want to just guess. Thank you.’
Click to enlarge
Jayne says:
‘You are quite right to seek professional help with this fine photograph. It isn’t unusual for family historians to guess at the date and names of ancestors in unidentified photographs that have been passed down the generations, without any firm evidence to support their ideas. Inevitably, they are often mistaken and this can seriously undermine their research. A valid date range is essential for placing each image within an accurate historical context that will form a sound basis for identification and may well prompt further discoveries.
Photographs may contain various clues to help with their dating and interpretation. Firstly we see that this is a professional card-mounted studio portrait taken by Notman & Fraser photographers of Toronto, Ontario. The geographical location provides important information which should narrow down the possible candidates for the ancestors in the scene.
Studio details printed on mounts can also be investigated and a Google search for this well-recorded Canadian photographer produced interesting links. Significantly, on the McCord Museum (Montreal) website we learn that William Notman of Quebec opened his Toronto studio with John A Fraser in the autumn of 1868 and that the business was sold in 1880. The address of the Toronto studio was 120, King Street East and on this page of the McCord Museum website is a photograph of the very building where your forebears went for their photographic portrait sitting.
Jayne Shrimpton
Turning to the image, the evidence of dress confirms that your photograph was taken towards the end of Notman & Fraser’s 1868-1880 period of operation in Toronto. The lady wears a smart silk two-piece daytime costume comprising a fitted hip-length front-buttoning bodice and matching skirt – an outfit that displays the narrow lines of the late 1870s. The silhouette of these years was formed by the elongated cuirass corset that entered mainstream fashion in around 1875 and, producing a long smooth line over the hips, effectively forced downwards the earlier (c.1869-75) bustle.
Clothing continued to narrow and grow sleeker in the following years but until c.1880 the residual back drapery of the skirt cascaded downwards into a long train, as seen here. These elements and other stylistic features such as the lace neck detail and her smooth, high-piled hairstyle indicate a date range of c.1876-80 for your photograph.
Men’s dress is always harder to date closely than that of women, but this gentleman’s appearance looks fine for our period. He is smartly dressed in a formal frock coat featuring the wide lapels of the 1870s and wears the full, bushy beard that some men favoured by this date. The composition is typical of a wedding photograph and the lady clearly displays a wedding band, so when considering identity, I suggest that you concentrate on ancestors who married in the Toronto area between 1876 and 1880.’
If you’d like to send your photo to Jayne Shrimpton, please register or opt to receive newsletters in ‘my account’. Jayne only has time to analyse two photos each month, but if yours wasn’t chosen this time, you could be lucky next month!
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Please note: This post has originated from a news feed from an external website.
Family Tree Forum neither endorses nor is responsible for the views of the author or any other content.
Tim Ryeland sent us his photo and asked:
‘I was wondering if you could advise the timeframe within which this photograph was taken. A date estimate would go a long way towards us being able to identify the people in the picture. I have my suspicions, but don’t want to just guess. Thank you.’
Click to enlargeJayne says:
‘You are quite right to seek professional help with this fine photograph. It isn’t unusual for family historians to guess at the date and names of ancestors in unidentified photographs that have been passed down the generations, without any firm evidence to support their ideas. Inevitably, they are often mistaken and this can seriously undermine their research. A valid date range is essential for placing each image within an accurate historical context that will form a sound basis for identification and may well prompt further discoveries.
Photographs may contain various clues to help with their dating and interpretation. Firstly we see that this is a professional card-mounted studio portrait taken by Notman & Fraser photographers of Toronto, Ontario. The geographical location provides important information which should narrow down the possible candidates for the ancestors in the scene.
Studio details printed on mounts can also be investigated and a Google search for this well-recorded Canadian photographer produced interesting links. Significantly, on the McCord Museum (Montreal) website we learn that William Notman of Quebec opened his Toronto studio with John A Fraser in the autumn of 1868 and that the business was sold in 1880. The address of the Toronto studio was 120, King Street East and on this page of the McCord Museum website is a photograph of the very building where your forebears went for their photographic portrait sitting.
Jayne ShrimptonTurning to the image, the evidence of dress confirms that your photograph was taken towards the end of Notman & Fraser’s 1868-1880 period of operation in Toronto. The lady wears a smart silk two-piece daytime costume comprising a fitted hip-length front-buttoning bodice and matching skirt – an outfit that displays the narrow lines of the late 1870s. The silhouette of these years was formed by the elongated cuirass corset that entered mainstream fashion in around 1875 and, producing a long smooth line over the hips, effectively forced downwards the earlier (c.1869-75) bustle.
Clothing continued to narrow and grow sleeker in the following years but until c.1880 the residual back drapery of the skirt cascaded downwards into a long train, as seen here. These elements and other stylistic features such as the lace neck detail and her smooth, high-piled hairstyle indicate a date range of c.1876-80 for your photograph.
Men’s dress is always harder to date closely than that of women, but this gentleman’s appearance looks fine for our period. He is smartly dressed in a formal frock coat featuring the wide lapels of the 1870s and wears the full, bushy beard that some men favoured by this date. The composition is typical of a wedding photograph and the lady clearly displays a wedding band, so when considering identity, I suggest that you concentrate on ancestors who married in the Toronto area between 1876 and 1880.’
If you’d like to send your photo to Jayne Shrimpton, please register or opt to receive newsletters in ‘my account’. Jayne only has time to analyse two photos each month, but if yours wasn’t chosen this time, you could be lucky next month!
More...
Please note: This post has originated from a news feed from an external website.
Family Tree Forum neither endorses nor is responsible for the views of the author or any other content.