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Old Photographs, Recognition, Handwriting Deciphering => Free Photo Restoration & Date Old Photographs => Topic started by: LenaGarner on Sunday 27 September 20 18:27 BST (UK)
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Hi all, Looking for some help with dating these two photographs of my Nana Doris with two cars in North Yorkshire, England. Any help much appreciated :)
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To me they look 1940's & 1950's.
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Hi
The lighter-coloured car looks ( to me ) like a Riley Kestrel abt 1940.
I've no clue as to the other.
Ray
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OH agrees the second one is a Riley. He's usually right.
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The dating of the car (just before WW2) fits the dress style. In the upper photo the clothing looks very similar to photos I have of my aunts dating from the late 1940s into the early 1950s.
The difference in the faces could suggest a gap of around ten years between the two photos.
Philip
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Hi (Lena)
If the fotos are of who I think they are ( b1921 ),
then they were possibly taken late 40's?
( She looks older than a teenager )
Ray
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Going by the sidelights, I would say photo 2 (the lighter car) is a Mk IV Jaguar saloon.
Michael.
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Could AVY 791 be an SS Jag?
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Hi (Lena)
If the fotos are of who I think they are ( b1921 ),
then they were possibly taken late 40's?
( She looks older than a teenager )
Ray
Hi Ray,
Thank you for your replies :)
It is indeed, my nana Doris Garner (nee England) born Christmas Eve 1920 but registered Jan 1921. Can I ask did you know her or did you deduce who it was from the info I gave?
I also have a photo of her when she was 17 but the quality isn't great and she defo looks a lot younger than she does in these photos!
Lena
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Hi all,
Thank you for your responses! I agree and having compared lots of photos am 99% sure the AVY 791 lighter car is a Jaguar Model IV, it was the front lights that sold it to me. My brother seems to think the other one is a Ford Model A. Any thoughts?
Another thing I was wondering is are these likely to actually be her (or Grandad's) cars or would she be posing with them being someone else's? I know people these days often pose with other cars (particularly at car shows etc) but not sure if it is something they would have done? Just want to get an idea that's all :)
Thanks again,
Lena
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The top photo is very similar to a Riley 9 saloon. The problem is that the front wheel & brake drum are very shiny (new car?) but this model was only built until 1938. Interesting is that both cars are 'sports saloons'.
Your Nan has her hand on the door handle on both cars; this perhaps indicates possession rather than having your photo taken next to someone else's car.
Both cars were expensive in their day.
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For the smaller car I am going for an Austin 10. Could they belong to a boyfriend or in the garage trade or?
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I see what you mean about the Austin 10 - it certainly looks quite similar. But did it have different variants and/or change over time? Nana Doris's car has the following features which I can't see on the picture of the Austin 10:
(a) badge on top of radiator
(b) larger sidelights
(c) air vents in side of bonnet
(d) larger flap (another vent?) just in front of door is chrome
(e) more rounded at top of A-pillar (where top of windscreen joins front edge of roof - seen in shape of door window)
I'm afraid it would take me a long time to check this out or find alternative suggestions, but after a quick image search, I see that some of the above list are features of the Riley 9.
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The door handles on the Austin 10 are at the rear of the door, the door handle on Nan's photo is at the front, so not likely to be an Austin.
However, most four door cars at that time do look very similar.
Added: The Lanchester 10 has a very similar front wing/running board to photo 1.
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One thing about the Riley 9 which seemed to me not to match was the vents in the bonnet. Nana Doris's car has just a few, whereas the Riley's seemed to extend along most of the length of the bonnet.
I also wondered about the bonnet handle in Nana D's - of course a lot depends on the angle a photo was taken from, but I didn't see anything just right in a Riley (or the Austin 10 for that matter).
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Not an Austin 10 then : :-( Better keep looking
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Ford Model Y?
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VY Registrations - York (B).
Reg. Letters Year Letter Start -> End Date (if known)
AVY K AUG 1971 ->
AVY B AUG 1964 ->
AVY APR 1938 ->
AVY MAR 1963 ->
So I would guess the large car would be registered 1938 onwards.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaguar_Mark_IV#/media/File:S_S_Jaguar_drophead_coupe_1940_(8679189922).jpg
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I'm not sure that dating the cars will help to date the photos - my memory is that in the late 1940's/early 1950's not only was there a shortage of steel for car production, but most car production was reserved for export to earn foreign currency to help pay the costs of WW2.
There were hardly any vehicles on the roads in those days so we could cycle anywhere without much concern.
A better guide may be the dates of her clothes.
Added: I'm trying to say that most of the few cars available were second-hand and mostly pre-war models. When car production restarted after WW2 it was also mostly with pre-war designs.
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For the smaller car I am going for an Austin 10. Could they belong to a boyfriend or in the garage trade or?
Hi,
Well this is why I was wondering if they were likely to belong to her - she was married to my grandad and he was in the army but then they owned a fruit and veg shop together in Bedale - will have to do some research to see when they opened it though and not sure how lucrative that sort of thing was in those days - either way i think they did alright for themselves :D
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I'm not sure that dating the cars will help to date the photos - my memory is that in the late 1940's/early 1950's not only was there a shortage of steel for car production, but most car production was reserved for export to earn foreign currency to help pay the costs of WW2.
There were hardly any vehicles on the roads in those days so we could cycle anywhere without much concern.
A better guide may be the dates of her clothes.
Added: I'm trying to say that most of the few cars available were second-hand and mostly pre-war models. When car production restarted after WW2 it was also mostly with pre-war designs.
Hi Michael,
I completely understand what you are saying. I simply wanted a rough date of the photos so I could add them in to my Nana's timeline so I'm not too worried if it isn't an exact date. I do have few other photos of her which I could then piece together with a point of reference if that makes sense :) I really appreciate everyone's effort in naming the other car and agree it looks like it could be a Ford due to the side radiator vent but. I'll have a little scout around :D
Lena
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If it's of any help, the first photo seems to be of a Wolseley 9 saloon.
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The Wolseley 9 was built for just two years, 1934 to 1936. Nan's car does look new, so this may date the photo to those years.
Michael.
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That looks spot on. A good find Michael :-)
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Nice find, Michael - certainly matches the features I'd picked out.
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The Wolseley 9 was built for just two years, 1934 to 1936. Nan's car does look new, so this may date the photo to those years.
Michael.
Hi Michael,
My nana was born 1920 and she looks much older than 16 in these photos (I have a photo of her when she was 17) but I agree that’s defo what the car is. Must be that she’s bought it later on?
Thanks again for all your detective work everyone. What a lovely little community this is :)
Lena
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This is the photo I have of her when she was 17 ☺️
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Hi, Bit late on this one but can confirm the top car AVY 731 is a York CBC Registration of late 1938, so on a 1938 SS Jaguar 2.5L Saloon. The smaller car regretfully without visible registration but wih an eight louvre bonnet and handle, has indeed all the hallmarks of a Wolseley Nine made between November 1933 and April 1935.