San Francisco photo for dating please

[AdrianB38]

Can someone please help with the dating of this photo?

Photo is taken by Tabler of 8 Montgomery St, San Francisco, California. Although SF Directories list Tabler at that address up to 1892 but no further, Google searches suggest that he may have continued to operate out of Montgomery St after then.

One possibility for the young girls are a pair of sisters born 1870 and 1878. However, I can't see there being 8y difference between these two. (Comments?)

The children from the next generation aren't born until 1905 and 1906.

It may be that we are seeing two cousins not two sisters. Any comments on date of photo, age of children and age of mother / granny / whatever would be gratefully accepted.

Sorry but this scan of a photo of an original somewhere miles away is the best we can do - so far as my contact (to whom thanks) remembers there was nothing on the reverse of the photo.

Thanks in hope.
Adrian

[Treetotal]

My guess would be that the girls are about 5 & 3 years old..the lady would appear to be their Grandmother rather than their Mother.
Carol

[yn9man]

AdrianB38 -

My random thoughts ...

I think the picture is of a grandmother and grand daughters. Many times mothers dress their children (in this case daughters) in like clothing for family pictures. These two girls are not dressed that alike. Were there any grand daughters (or cousins) born in the 1880s?

I would date the ages of the girls between 3 and 6 years old. Definitely not 8 years apart. 

The San Francisco earthquake and fire on 18 Apr 1906 pretty much destroyed downtown San Francisco (including Montgomery Street and other parts of the business district) so I don't think the picture is of the children born in 1905 and 1906.       

Mr. Taber was a fairly well know photographer in San Francisco with a large studio and several employees.   

You are fortunate to have this copy. Best of luck in your family research.

yn9man

[AdrianB38]

Thanks for your thoughts so far...

That's a good thought about the 1906 fire and Montgomery St - I'll have to see if there's evidence for a distinct cut-off at that point, but it does sound unlikely he operated out of there post-1906.

If the girls are sort of between 3 and 6, then (assuming one is one of the two daughters of the guy who usually sent these photos over) then the photo sort of dates either
 1873-1876 or
 1881-1884

Their only granny (my gut feeling about who she is) died 1883. What I don't know is whether the daughters had cousins at about this time - oh well, another 4 families to research!

Anyone else care to comment on the likelihood a date of 1870s or 1880s??

[Treetotal]

I wouldn't put the older child much older than 5...maybe even 4...the younger child could be a boy...maybe that's why the younger child is dressed differently and wearing dark socks?
Carol

[AdrianB38]

Gosh, I forgot about "breeching" and how they dressed boys.... Thanks

[yn9man]

Treetotal -

Good point about possibly a boy ... I missed that too.

yn9man