Please could someone help in dating these two photos. The originals are in poor condition, but at least I've managed to scan them.
The first one is from the Bellman studio at Lowther Street, Whitehaven, Cumberland. It is pasted onto a cardboard mount. There is no writing on the back and, unfortunately, the man's head is missing.
One of the medal symbols on the mount shows the date 1897-98, so the photo most likely originated shortly after this date.
My grandparents, David Keir and Amy Louise Kerr, married in Whitehaven in August 1901, so I was wondering if this could have been of them taken about the time of the wedding. The Kerr family were living in Roper Street, Whitehaven at that time, which is in the town centre, and quite close to the Bellman studio.
The second photo is from the Gibson studio in Arrowthwaite, Whitehaven. This was close to where the Keir family lived.
It’s striking how localised the damage is, with just the man’s head missing. I wondered if this might have been intentional, possibly after some disagreement.
The child, possibly a little over a year old, looks dressed for a special occasion, but would it have been a boy or girl? I've read that infants, even boys, used to be dressed in frocks, but at what age would they have been put in trousers and would that still be the case at the time the photo was taken?
Many thanks in anticipation, Rob.