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Old Photographs, Recognition, Handwriting Deciphering => Free Photo Restoration & Date Old Photographs => Topic started by: verezzi on Friday 19 April 19 15:44 BST (UK)
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Hello,
I have this lovely family photo of the Gray family who lived in Middlesbrough. I would be interested if anyone would be able to clean it up a little or perhaps anyone more of an expert than me might tell me anything we can learn from the picture, the family had a son who died in 1909 and I suspect his mother might be holding a photograph of him towards the camera and I thought this might also be the significance of the empty chair on the right. This would narrow the photo down to 1909-1918 where I think the girls would be too old based on how they appear here. Any thoughts?
Thank you so much in advance,
Dan
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My guess would be 1908-12....the photo that the lady is holding looks to be of an adult and most likely female.
It's always helpful to post the whole photo including the back. I'm guessing that it would be a postcard back.
Carol
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It is a lovely family photo. I've cleaned it up for you,
Pat.
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One with some colour,
Pat
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Hello,
Thank you for your thoughts, much appreciated. I don't have access to the photo at the moment to photograph the back as it belongs to a different family member and will be boxed up somewhere. This is a copy I made of the original. I did however try to scan a close up of the photograph Mary is holding in the photo- see below.
Can I say a massive thank you for the replies and the stunning work on the picture itself, thank you.
Dan
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How old was the son who died in 1909? If he fitted in at the beginning of the family, the photo could be of him. :-\ Hard to tell, but as Carol says, seems to be an adult.
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Sorry, he was 19 when he died- of pleurisy and pneumonia in October 1909, there are also two other sons not present in the photo who both emigrated, One to New Zealand in 1909 one to Canada in 1911- perhaps this might help to date it but I thought originally it might have been taken to commemorate their lost son, if so why wait until after 1911 when the other son had emigrated? Then again, where is he if not? I first thought the mother wearing black might be significant but she is wearing black in all the surviving photos of her!
Thank you for all your help, this was the photo that got me into family history in the first place and means a lot to me,
Dan
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Agree with Carol's dates & would say the earlier of those. The girls pigeon-breast blouses started to go out of fashion by around 1908.
I think your summary is quite feasible so could have been taken after the one son died & the other had emigrated but before the third son went & that's him at the back.
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One colour from me.
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Verezzi, there is no way to determine the colour of something showing as black on a black & white photo. Many darker shades of colours, red, blue, green, purple for instance, show as black when photographed.
Pat
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Ah! Thank you, I hadn't thought of that regarding the colours. Regarding the sons- there were 4, the two eldest emigrated, the third is the lad who died, the young man in the photo is Uncle Archie who is different to the ones I mentioned, sorry for not being more clear. Someone once told me they thought the photo might have been taken for Archie's coming of age as they felt he was deliberately opening up his coat to show off his watch chain. If there is a date for 1908 then the second eldest is missing but easily could have been elsewhere for work as he was old enough. Archie, in the photo, was born Dec 1891 so would be mid to late teens with the suggested dates which looks about right, he later grew a moustache during the war so it has to be before then. Despite losing a son to illness, all three of the others sons served in the war and all survived- two becoming officers- the eldest won the Military Cross. They did not have an easy war however for instance the young man in the photo was wounded several times and lost his best friend- they signed up together and served in the same regiment, after his friend was shot he went up into no man's land at night to retrieve his body for burial. He later became second lieutenant and was captured and sent to a POW camp in Germany. Terrible times.
But I am waffling, thank you again for all the comments and the beautiful work with the photo, it is much appreciated and I am sending them to my mum now!
I have attached a second photo of the family group for anyone interested, looking at the ages I would expect this was during the war. Many thanks again.
Dan
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" Ah! Thank you, I hadn't thought of that regarding the colours. "
Trishanne is quite right. We're not Psychic ;D ;D ;D so people get what we
imagine, rightly or wrongly. ;D ;D ;D Anybody who complains has to pay a forfeit
of 3 dozen sausage rolls, to me. 8)
When I first saw the picture, I automatically assumed that they were Italian ??? ??? ???
But a quality picture nonetheless. :D :D
" But I am waffling "
Waffle as much as you like. This is one of the reasons we are on RootsChat, because of
all the interesting stories that people tell of their ancestry.
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I have often thought he has an Italian or foreign look about him, it's the moustache and swarthy complexion, but no, he is from South Shields!
Dan
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Another colour
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Fantastic thank you. I love reading the photograph posts, so much talent on show. Happy Easter to all!
Dan
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Can I suggest Dan that you create a different post for each picture. People who have
visited the first post have no way of knowing that that you have posted another pic. and
may think that the subject is finished.
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Sorry that was more an afterthought really, will do in future.
Dan
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One more contribution, sorry for being late.