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Old Photographs, Recognition, Handwriting Deciphering => Handwriting Deciphering & Recognition => Topic started by: Wiggy on Monday 09 January 17 04:44 GMT (UK)
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Hello,
Please could someone with good sight and an ability to read out of focus writing see what can be done with this description of people in a similarly out of focus photo - I attach the photo too just so you can tell if they are male or female - not much else I'm afraid. Doing this for a friend.
THIS WILL BE A CHALLENGE TO END ALL CHALLENGES! ;D ;D
Anything you can read would be a help ;) - we can see enough just to know that it is a list of names of those in the photo and we know it finishes with
'Picture taken at Blue Hills on Sunday afternoon about 1906 . . . . . . .
a property at Dudorman(?sp) on the Cootamundra - ?Temora Road - Taken by the . . . . . (Not sure of the rest.)
Wiggy
p.s. We are quite expecting you to come back with 'You have got to be Joking!' - - but nothing venture nothing gain. ::) ;)
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One go at it ::)
Picture taken at our home ? Hills on Sunday afternoon about 1906.Later went to a property at Dirnaseer on Cootamundra Temora Road.
Sue
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Thanks Sue. That's definitely a start!! :)
We have tried with the names but so far have very few to play with so far. I am going to rename one of the attachments - it gives the wrong idea. ;)
We think the area is actually Dudorman or something sounding like that - that is a known memory. It is the family of my friend's husband, and they remember the area - just not the spelling. ;)
This is what we've guessed thus far.
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Just a suggestion. Maybe the photo board can help?
Make it like a negative where the writing is white and paper dark or some such, not an expert, possibly there is something they can do to improve. Post a link to this thread on the photo section, there are many with genius. Nothing ventured.
I think the brackets explain the relationship to who ever wrote it.
It's making my eyes hurt, even though squinting helps. :(
Cas
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I have added our first attempt to previous post.
I have been playing with this image all afternoon trying to make it clearer - with very little success.
Here is the first i.e. back row - inverted.
Don't think it helps much but . . . . You never know.
Don't ruin your eyes - if it can't be done, it can't be done - at least we've worked out which side of the family it belongs to. John Hicks as seen in the second line - about the middle.
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Back row. Possibly...Enoch, Mary Chancley? (My mother and father)?
Will add more here if can
I think the mine manager name is Thomas ? And he is father not mother to the best friend. It sounds to me like a woman's writing.
Botched the surname Chanc(ley) as it is part of the (my....
Cas
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Perhaps the person you are helping knows some of the names from family history.
However, I am stabbing away at it and am probably completely off track.
We all seem to see bits differently. ::)
Back Row
Roy ?*** (R****’s boy) ?*** Henry ?**** (my mother’s elder brother)
Second line
Thomas Henry Williams (my ?***’s father) John Williams (my John’s father)
Third line
husband) Samuel Williams (brother of Thomas Henry)
Fourth line
This child died in a fall from **** on Cootamundra Road.
Sue
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Going well Sue!
I think you are right about Thomas Henry Williams?
The one name she expects will appear is Hicks, and we think we can see Hicks ;)
Thanks for your help thus far ladies! :D
Think you are right about a woman writing.
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Fifth line
?** manager and father of ?*** my dear friend at the age of??
Sue
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Does the inversion make reading/guessing () easier? If so Iwill invert the rest of it!
You are brave . . And we continue to work on it also.
Wiggy
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I have not looked at the inversion really. ???
I am only making guesses and hoping to be picking up bits correctly..
It needs a wider range of opinions than just the ones I offer.
Sue
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I've sharpened it up a bit - it's now very big - will send it to Wiggy to chop up, if it might help.
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Thanks Gadget. Will go and see what I can do about chopping it up. It is a shocker isn't it!
Hmmm . . . I had a go at sharpening it up earlier and wasn't sure it was a big improvement.
It really is almost un-do-able. Is that a good word?
Here is my inversion of the second part,
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Gadget's sharpened work. Part 2
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And 3rd Row - sharpened - and or inverted.
I think I can see Sylvia/ Sophia at the left hand end of last line! Not much help! ;)
Sophia maybe . . .
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Wiggy - you've reduced the size so it's more difficult to read than the original. Any chance of sending me the original - full size.
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I will send what I have Gadget, but the original photo was tiny and I scanned it then reduced it to post - I didn't save the original at 800, but I have the 600dpi version which I will send - photo has gone home with owner.
What I have is on its way. The higher dpi didn't make much difference really.
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Please don't wreck your eyesight on this folks!
At least my friend knows enough to know which side of the family it belongs to - it is just interesting, this large family from outback NSW.
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Think it might be a rescan needed, Wiggy - lots of compression (fuzziness) showing.
Here's 2nd Row - sharpened, B&Wed and brought up the pale bit.
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and last bit
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Thanks very much Gadget . . . I will rescan and will play again with things as Gadget has done . . . but I will also suggest to friend that she reviews the tree to see what other names she can expect to find.
If she can tell some names, then as Sue suggests, we will know what we are looking for.
Thanks very much Sue, Cas and Gadget. Very kind of you all to bother with what we know is horrible! (a stinker in good old coloquial Aussie speak!)
Wiggy :) 8)
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Hi Wiggy :)
I have been looking/squinting a bit at this, mostly at the 3rd row section.
Are you still working on it? If so, could you post some of your ideas for that section and I'll try to add my ideas to it?
sami
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Hi Sami, Thanks for looking. Please post what you think as we'd like to see them.
I have just had a message from my friend . . she wants to thank you all for your time and patience with this appallingly out of focus writing. :-[ :-[
You have given her a very good lead and she is now pursuing it.
We didn't have too many clues for row three - My only offering was Sophia - or Sylvia - but tend to Sophia. . . . . another ?son of . . . Roy . . . (I don't know!! :o) And that is in the last line!
Everyone stop looking and many many thanks. It goes beyond the call of kindness.
Wiggy :D :D
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OK - on my way out just now, I'll be back shortly and post what I have.
sami
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Not very much and not sure any of it is correct, but perhaps it helps a bit. I only looked at Row 3:
Mrs Thomas (....s mother)
3rd Row. Lyart W.... (lying on his sisters ?) ? Clark (? ? of ? ?) ? ?
My Sister (married ? ? ?) ? ? ? ? ? ? of ? ?
? ? (?) ? Emma ? my fathers ? & married ? ? of ? ? ?
Aunt Lil (my mothers youngest sister) married G?, ? ? ? ?)
Front Ppl. Thomas King ? son of Mary Jane ?, my ? father ) ? ? ?
of Sophie B.... N..... (?)? ? (? ? of ? daughter of Mary ?
Picture taken ...................
sami
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Thanks very much Sami. I am giving your thoughts to my friend.
Over to her and her new way of sorting things out now!
Thank you very much.
Think we will close this thread now! :D
Thanks again one and all who tried.
Marking this as completed . . . as far as we've got anyhow! ;)
Wiggy