Old Photographs

[louisa maud]

I don't know where to put this but I have quite a lot of old photos obviously done in  studios at great expense by the look of them, they came from a cousins who know I am into genealogy, but, I have no idea who these people are, they are definitely not my blood line, they could well be an uncle by marriage but I really do not know, they are mixed men women and children, very beautifully done
Photographers are as follows
Stuart Bros Nightsbridge
E S Baker in Birmingham
Sawyer and Bird Norwich
Moulden Hitchen
Bartlett Battersea Park
Hellis  Regent St
Hudson Bordesley Birmingham
Edwards Yarmouth
Miller Yarmouth
Sawyer Walmer
Browne Kensington
Marr Norwich
Webster Aston Manor
Hardy To Torquay
Radford Aston
J H Fox and the late A G Taylor, this one is a photo of a man of the cloth

What on earth can I do with these photographs, I am loath to throw them away

Louisa Maud

[Katharine F]

Perhaps you could put them into an album of their own.

It is possible they could be useful in time to a distant  relative.  If they have dates on them they could even help in dating other family members by comparing style of dress, hair etc.

Please don't get rid of them you could regret it.

Katharine

[GR2]

Ask your cousin to help identify them. Otherwise ask if there are any older family members who might know. Do you recognise any of your own family from comparison with your own family photographs? It might surprise you who recognises them. At one time it was a common entertainment to look at the old photographs and folk who were even shown them as children might recognise them again.

[dolly dimples]

Louisa,   if you really dont wish to keep these precious items, why not put them on the "unwanted items" board,
   There are lots of people requesting and offering photos there,
                                Dolly

[Lal]

Don't throw them out! It might take you a long time, but you will be able to identify some of them as time goes on. I scanned in a lot of old and unidentified photos my mother let me borrow and it's taken a long, long time, but I have identified some of them since. You never know when you will encounter a distant relative on a forum and sometimes they can help, or a fresh pair of eyes can see a likeness to someone else, or you may get clues from the photos themselves.

Scan them though, and keep in an online folder (flickr, photobucket or even facebook) so they are handy to share, that's my tip.

[louisa maud]

Thank you all for your suggestions, I will have to keep them I think, they have done the rounds of cousins and no one knows who they are. I am sure it was my aunts husband's family, this particular aunt and uncle remained childless and I think they were well thought of in the family. It has just occurred to me that this aunt might have left money to this family who I assummed lived in the Cheshire area but not 100% sure,  so I ought to check it out

Thank you all

Louisa Maud

[Midase]

What ever you do please do not throw them away. Your local museum may be interested in them from a social history aspect. I work voluntarily at my local museum and you would be surprised how such photographs are valuable, not in money terms, but from the historical aspect.

[louisa maud]

One of these photographs has a man of the cloth posing, it is signed but at the moment I can't see what it is apart from the surname might be ? H W Davis, I have spoken to a cousin and we don't think these people are known within the direct family family, what a shame, I might resort to giving them to a museum or  a record office of some sorts

thank you Midace

Louisa Maud

[Ruskie]

Louisa Maud,
There are many people here on rootschat who collect old photographs. You could ask on the Photo restoration board if anyone would like them. If the photos are of no relevance to you and you do not want them, I'm sure there will be many people who would willingly take them, enjoy them and give them a good home.