Date and age please

[slowbookworm]

If you have seen my other post today this is another photo from the stripy collection!
I dont know who these 2 ladies are and I am hoping someone may be able to tell me roughly when the photo was taken. Also what age do you think they are, at first I thought the seated lady was quite old but then noticed she has dark hair not grey.
Any help on this would be great
Thanks
SBW

[chinakay]

Hi sbw, I'd guess mid 1880s. The older lady looks gray to me, right in front, and the dark bits look like her hat. It's hard to tell, though, because of the state of the photo

Cheers,
China

[PaulaToo]

The seated lady does look elderly to me, yes, quite possibly greying.
Those wide sleeves the young girl is wearing were popular in the 1860s, according to my costume book, but the couple do look a little old fashioned and prim, is that a bible or a prayer book the elderly lady is holding?

[chinakay]

The sleeves, but definitely not the skirts and bodices, in fact the older lady seems to be wearing a ruffled trim on her skirt that was the thing in mid 1870s...some older women are photographed in older clothes that they are more comfortable in.

Yes. looks like a prayer book, doesn't it.

OR, calling OR...come in OR...we need an opinion

Cheers,
C

[little meg]

tried to make it a little clearer, hopefully to make it easier for those to date

Margaret

[PaulaToo]

Here's a thought...
It's usually the other way round, and the older person is in the old...as you say comfortable clothes, but it looks like the girl is the one behind the times....I wonder if the old lady was wearing her posh new gear, and the girl was wearing a hand me down, perhaps from the old lady when she was a little slimmer, that has been altered.

[slowbookworm]

Thanks for the replys everyone
I have been searching the web for photo dating sites and from looking at them I would have to agree with mid 1870s.
Now in the picture below the old lady seated is my G Grandmother Mary Napier (nee Seaman) I think her jaw looks very simular to the seaded lady in the other photo. They cant be the same person as Mary was born in 1855 but could the younger one be Mary with her Mother?

[slowbookworm]

And here is another photo of Mary (seated)

[slowbookworm]

Just wondering why my first picture appeared so small compared to the other so I will thy to post it again and see if it comes up any bigger