hello all, i'd like some help with the dress in the photo. it's possibly my ancestor or her sister, the date will be able to tell, as the photo has "granny gadd"
on the back.
These photos are quite early and very interesting, can you give any more information on them, what are they on? cardboard? do they have anything written on the back?
the first one must be emma wills then. i don't know anything about the photo's, they were emailed to me by a cousin. there isn't any names of people on the back, im not sure about studios.
The photos are both quite early if you look at the second she is wearing a full dress with a top of V patterns, that and the way she is photographed would seem to date her in the early 1860s, the strange pose is because it took a long time to take a photo and she probably had some kind of brace behind her to help her pose. I would be really interested to find out what the photo is on, cardboard, glass etc. The first photo bears all the hallmarks of being an early cart de visite, which would mean it was on thick card, it also looks "gone with the wind" in fashion this would date her from about the time of the american civil war. Carte de visites also often had information about the photographers on the back, and even the shapes altered with passing fashions.
they are made of that tough cardboard, my gran has two family photo's of that.
the first image was taken in peckham, london, and has "granny gadd" written on it. now this granny, is one of two sisters who married thomas gadd. mary ann and emma wills. mary ann married him in 1839, and had children until 1851. then she dissapears. emma marries him by 1861, and is widowed by 1871.
so, if the photo is dated to the 1860's, it is of emma wills.
the second image was taken at st john's wood, london. it is labelled "great grandmother". since mary was dead by the 1880's, and emma is identified above, this must be mary wyatt. though this image must be a little earlier than 1881, as she died that year.
is there a way to contact the photographer or who has the negatives, to find out the names of these people?
my grandma has a book of australian photo's, and if she pays the company a certain fee, they will look at there records and identify all the people in the photo's. i was wondering if there was something like this in england?
Both ladies appear middle aged, but people in those days did tend to look older, they both still appear to have brown hair, I would have said that the first lady was a shade younger than the second, but that is only an opinion
if she was young in the first one she may be marian vye gadd, she would have been in her 20's. but is she was older, it would be emma wills, marians aunt/step mum. it's labelled granny gadd, and i would think it would refer to emma, but it was in the possesion of marian's grandaughter.
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