Can anyone date this photo please?

[netti]

I have recently been sent this scanned photo by a cousin but we don't know who the subjects are. My cousin thinks the woman looks like his late father. Can anyone give an estimate of the year it was taken and any other clues in the picture please.

No need to restore as quite a good picture to start with.

Thanks for looking

[jim1]

Late 1890's.The lady's sleeve is called a Gigot or leg o' mutton & became popular in 1893 but lost favour around 1897.Over that time the sleeve became larger until it reached these proportions,so 1896-8 I would suggest.

jim

[netti]

Thanks Jim,

I am busy comparing the few photos I have from that branch to see if I can see a similarity. I don't have any this old - the next oldest is a wedding in the 1920s.

Do you think they are man and wife?

netti

[jim1]

Unfortunately she's not showing her left hand but this kind of familiarity would be reserved for close relatives only,even an engaged couple would have maintained polite distance,so a husband or brother.

jim

[chinakay]

Yes...and if they were a married couple the lady would be posed to show off her wedding ring, this was very common.

I think they are brother and sister...same eyes and similar mouths, and similar long shape of the face.

Cheers,
China

[netti]

I wondered if they were brother and sister - unfortunately that makes it even harder to pick a likely member of the family.

I was hoping they were this couple, my great grandparents, shown in 1928. Fred was born 1874 so would be about 25 in the original photo and 54 in the later, his wife Ellen was born 1877 so around 21 and then 50.

Fred had 2 sisters and Ellen was the eldest of 12

[netti]

I have one more picture of Fred taken in 1945 just before he died. His ear looks similar to original photo!

[jim1]

I think it's them.

jim

[netti]

Thanks Jim,

I agree! Especially the gentleman (Fred). There is a chance I can get some pictures from Ellen's family so I will follow that up as she had a distinctive look when younger which has passed down our family.

She eventually died from poorly managed diabetes in 1940 so that may account for the differences in her face when older.

Thanks again for taking the time to comment

netti