Genealogy Chat

Hi, I've just got a photo from an Aunt of family members sitting outside a Hotel in Sheffield. I don't know exactly who they are but I can narrow it down to two families. Firstly, how can I date the photo? It looks to be Victorian/Edwardian but I'm not an expert and can't tell for sure. Also, is there any way of tracing qwho lived and worked at the hotel back then because I know one of my rellies was a barman all his life. Thanks, Lisa

Have you got the photo scanned? As I'm the nosiest person in the world, if you want to email it to me I'll give you my humble opinion on the date!!!! I'll send you a pm in a second, with my email addy! (and then you'll say you don't have a scanner!) Merry

Hi Merry, I'll send you two pics of the same family, this might help! Thanks, Lisa

OK! Merry

Thanks for the photos! The distant shot with two men and two women looks Late Edwardian/WW1-ish......I have a photo of my gran wearing an almost identical white dress as your seated young lady and my photo is dated 1914. The other one confuses me a bit. The two ladies appear to be in 1890's clothing.....but I'm wondering if the photo is a bit later...maybe turn of the century? If I'd seen the man by himself I would have been completely put off because he looks much more ''modern'' - almost more 1920's!! Mind you, I know two of my maiden aunts were still wearing the clothes of their youth (1860's) in the 1920's!! Apparently people would openly laugh at them in the street, because they were so hopelessly out of date and out of fashion!! Still looking.............. Merry

Thanks Merry, I know it is confusing isn't it? I think the lady on the right looks more victorian and the one on the left has a slightly shorter skirt, unless its because she's seated. Thanks for looking though, Lisa

That's not the same dog in both photos, surely???!!!!!!!!!!! lol!! I still say 1908-1920 for the distance shot - white dress, man in straw boater, buttonhole, high stiff collar for the other chap..... and 1890 - 1910 for the other one.....only because the ladies might not be the height of fashion! (otherwise, 1890's) Merry

Which particular dog? There are soooo many! Cheers, Lisa

Distant shot....white dog dark ears.......also on left of the other photo, on the younger lady's lap! Merry

Hi Lisa I have a few books at home on this subject of dating old photos. There are many clues you can gather to date a photo - the type of photo it is, the pose they are in, the studio decor, their hairstyles, dress length, sleeve type, tightness of corset, style of dress, style of hats etc Most studio shots would have shown women in their 'best' outfits or even loaned outfits from the photographer - so these would normally tend to be quite up-to-date as women wanted to appear fashion-conscious in these photos (even if in real life they were not). Outdoor shots were not the 'norm' prior to turn of century since they were a costly affair, hiring a photographer etc, although some families arranged for the photographer to visit the home and took photos in the back yard/garden or even the back yard of the studio premises. Most families had photos taken to mark special occasions - the obvious ones of: breaching, turning 18 and 21, marriage, going off to war, coming back from war, group outing and even to mark the death of a loved one (I find that one strange myself). If you'd like me to have a look at them for you send me a PM and I'll let you have my email. From the description of one of the photos above, I would agree that it does sound Edwardian (straw boaters were the fashion then and my grt grandad was wearing one for his wedding in 1910). Athena

A couple of years ago I went to our town museum and had some photographs dated. Even though the photos were from Canada, one he dated '1901 or 1902'. I knew that was correct, as the photo included very young children. He also looked at a couple of photos that were taken in England and explained that it wasn't unusual for women to wear outdated styles of clothing, especially if they lived in rural areas. I was amazed at what he told me about all of the photos and if he said it wasn't unusual to wear outdated clothing, then I would believe it.