photo dating request

[zempavlob2]

hi

any help dating this photo, or the age of the sitter, will be much appreciated, thank you.


Although it states 'Nan Harding' (a great grandmother) on the reverse of the photo, the relative who kindly provided it thinks it's possibly a photograph of the great grandmother's mother who was born September 1864 in BEDMINSTER, BRISTOL.

I don't have the original photo and the reprint I'm told is larger than the original (no size available) and doesn't show the name of the photographer who is:

J.B. STEWART & Son
Poona
India

Also missing on the reprint, but visible on the original, is a possible ' by appointment to' sign (no further details)

It's not clear if the photo was taken in INDIA but the potential ancestor married a sailor in 1883 in BEDMINSTER so could possibly have travelled with him? 

The only other thing I know is the original photo shows signs of being cut from a bigger picture.

[IgorStrav]

I think this is a picture of someone in her late teens or very early twenties.

I'm not a dater, but I think you will get responses ruling out the 1864 lady, as I don't believe this is a 1884 hairstyle.

[brianz]

I think your photo could be of a girl in her very early teens, as her body "shape" is that of a young girl. the hairstyle suggests 1900 to 1910.

[IgorStrav]

I agree that she looks young, Brian, but I think the fact that her hair is "up" suggests she's a little older than early teens.

The costume experts will be along soon to confirm the dating!

[chinakay]

Hmmm...what an unusual hairstyle, don't think I've seen anything quite like it before.

After eliminating everything else, I think I have to agree it's likely early 1900s...the hair, the shape of the cuff and the little bit of waistline visible make me think it's around 1905 or so, although the rustic scenery is a bit dated.

The only info I could find about the photographer was that he seems to have been active photographing soldiers in India during WWI, so a similar time frame.

Best I can do

Cheers,
China

[chinakay]

Aha....here he is. It's FB Stewart.

http://www.victorian-cinema.net/stewart.htm

[zempavlob2]

thanks everyone for your help, it's much appreciated!

do you think it's ok to assume the photograph was taken in the UK (ie BRISTOL) rather than in POONA, INDIA? It would be useful to find out if JB STEWART had a studio in or around the BEDMINSTER area of BRISTOL. I'll ask when I visit the BRISTOL Record Office.

regards

[chinakay]

Did you read the link I posted?

[zempavlob2]

yes, I did read it before I posted my reply, many thanks.

The article you kindly highlighted mentions FB Stewart, which is possibly related to JB Stewart mentioned on the photo? I don't hold the original photo and the photographer's name isn't on the reprint so I guess the relative who provided it might have misread the name as JB Stewart?


 Based on the dating information kindly provided by others the photo is likely to be a great grandmother (not the desired gg grandmother . She was born and raised in BEDMINSTER, BRISTOL and would have been very unlikely to have had a reason to visit INDIA, although it's not impossible. Is there a way I could find this out? Hence my subsequent query about whether JB / FB Stewart might have had a studio in the BRISTOL area.

regards