RootsChat.Com
Old Photographs, Recognition, Handwriting Deciphering => Free Photo Restoration & Date Old Photographs => Topic started by: shaun on Saturday 12 May 18 16:34 BST (UK)
-
Hello,
This is a long shot due to the quality of the photo. We found this photo in the loft of my grandparents and have no idea who any of these people are. I was wondering whether anybody recognised the clothes or uniforms that the people are wearing?
thanks
-
They are not wearing a uniform, they look as if they are wearing their best suits c1920.
Someone else may be more helpful.
-
I would agree with 1920s
Carol
-
After examining the photo up close, it really looks like an old-school postmortem photo. They were done well into the 1930s. Explains why the two in back have a slight blur at different levels but the one in front is perfect. I'm thinking the sitting one is deceased.
Did a bit of work cleaning it for you, not a lot, just enough to perhaps help in identifying people and the outfits. The gentleman on the right needed a near full face reconstruction, so that's the best I could do with what was given.
DrDude
-
Wow thank you sooo much,
This is amazing. good to know what decade it may be. and DrDude, I cant thank you enough for the clean up job you did. So much clearer to see them now. Hopefully this will help in identifying who these characters are and how they ended up in my families photos.
Shaun
ADDED: Dos the oval border around the photo give anything away to what purpose the photo might have been taken?
Added: The more I look at it the more I think you could be right about the guy sitting down being deceased. Especially with the other two having their hands on him.
-
The hard oval vignette photo was popular in the 1870's & again in the 1890's.
I don't believe this is 1870's.
You'll notice none of them have a separate buttonhole for their watch chains which was pretty much standard post 1900.
The way the 2 at the back are touching the one in front suggests related.
So I would suggest 3 brothers c. 1890's.
Seeing the back might help.
As for it being a pm, not in my opinion.
Everybody looked dead in Victorian photos.
-
Everybody looked dead in Victorian photos.
Harsh! But I do agree with jim1 - I would say 1890s and alive. Due to the quality of the photo it's difficult to estimate ages, but I would suggest:
Back left - 16-25
Front centre - 20-30
Back right - could be any age 25-50.
Philip
-
As for it being a pm, not in my opinion.
Everybody looked dead in Victorian photos.
It's quite possible it's not a postmortem photo, but the differences in the focus of the two in back , each with their own level of blur that suggest they were moving during a long shutter process, and the lack of a blur to the one in the front, combined with the traditional "hands on" pose, it looks more like a postmortem family photo (plenty of similar ones on google image search). I could be wrong, but it the entirety of the photo makes it look very much like one.
And indeed, in Victorian era photos and Elizabethan era paintings, people either looked dead or pissed off. lol!
DrDude
-
I don't think it's blur. Photo processes had come a long way since the 1840's & you see very little blur by the 90's except with very young children.
What you see is deterioration caused by damp reacting with the chemicals in the photo.
Although there are plenty of pm's online they are mostly from earlier decades & considering there were over 4,000,000 CdeV's taken in the UK alone what you see is a very small percentage.
-
you guys are extremely knowledgable.
from a quick glance at my family tree...
On my grandmothers side, her mother had just 2 brothers born 1986 and 1890. So probably not them as there was only 2.
Her father was one of four brothers. I don't have information on their death dates yet, so maybe one died and this is the other three in the photo. (my next task will be to research into when they died).
Both of these families were travelling families, so not sure what that means regarding their fashion and what they are wearing in the photo.
Thennn on my grandfathers side....
His father was one of four brothers, all born just slightly earlier, 1869, 1871,1873, 1875.
his mother had 7 brothers so probably not any of them.
These were not travelling families.
also just to clarify, the photo was found in my grandparents belongings, that is why im looking at their parents immediate family at similar dates.
lastly, there was nothing written on the back of the photo, is there other clues you can get from looking at the back of photos?
thanks again
Shaun
-
Unless it's completely blank yes.