Great Great Aunt Alice (possibly!) - approximate date for this photo, please

[Mayflower2023]

Hello to all,

Would anyone be able to suggest a date for this family group, please?  And possibly suggest roughly how old everyone might be?

From our family research so far, the lady in the picture *might* be Alice, one of five sisters, maiden name Spence, all born between c.1855-1870, (the youngest of whom emigrated to Canada in the early 1900s - if that’s at all relevant). 

If the photo doesn’t fit with a woman born within those dates that would be useful information too.
 
Any insights or thoughts that the photo produces would be really welcome, as it may hold the key to a little family mystery from around a century ago…(related to an illegitimate birth).

Many thanks
Mayflower

[jim1]

Looks mid-late 1890's.
The eldest child looks around 7/8 so I would suggest she's
late 20's-early 30's.

[Mayflower2023]

Hi there,

Thank you very much for your reply - if it is the late 1890s, then it really probably is Alice and that's super helpful. 

Does anyone have any more thoughts - I've never seen clothing like the eldest child is wearing before, was that usual for the time?  I'm assuming from the rest of the picture it was a studio photo and so am also assuming everyone dressed-up a bit for it.

Many thanks
Mayflower

[Gadget]

Alice's sleeves are classic for the period that Jim has identified.

[Mayflower2023]

Brilliant, thank you.  So much to learn about all this