Posing with mandolins

[Jill on the A272]

They were quite popular in late Victorian times, as was the banjo (both tuned GDAE). My granddad (b1898) had two which may have been his father's or elder brother's, one of which I now own, but have never learned the chords though having learned violin for a while (same tuning) I can pick out a tune. They all look as if they are playing the same chord.

[Laurence]

Just discovered why I couldn't attach the photo. Here is the image: http://s1131.photobucket.com/user/lo...20new.jpg.html

[Laurence]

I have a photo, which I will try to attach (can't see how at the moment), showing 3 female relatives holding mandolins and 2 males in sailor suits. It would have been taken around 1900 as the young boy was born in 1891. Were mandolins a standard prop in photos then, or might my family have actually played them?