James WILLIAMS pre-1914 Liverpool

[sorrellk]

This photo in this extremely sad condition is the only known picture of my paternal grandfather. It recently surfaced in the attic of a 1st cousin.
James was born in Liverpool in 1881 and I think this picture is definitely pre WW1. I think I can see a flower in his lapel, so I wonder if it might have been taken at a (his?) wedding. He did marry my grandmother in 1904. James died in 1921.
I even paid someone to have a go at restoring it but the results were less than satisfactory and made him look like a plastic replica of a person.
Would appreciate any and all help.

[japeflakes]

Had a go but not good :-(

[sorrellk]

Many thanks, I do appreciate the effort! I realize what a tough one this is. And what doesn't help is that the original picture measures only about 1"x 2" and when you try to make it bigger, it just pixilates out.

It wouldn't matter so much except that as I said, this is the only picture we have of him. He died more than 40 years before I was born, and none of his 12 grandchildren ever even met him. He's just been a name on my Dad's birth and marriage certificates.

[hoobaloo]

A try from me, regards, John.

[jmagarac]

Greetings. Am I to understand that you are in "possession" of this small photograph? You are correct in the fact that its original small size is a very large hinderance to capturing much detail from it in a scan. And yes... it will definitely only pixelate further when attempting to extrapolate detail from the uploaded file. I know it is always a long shot suggestion - but have you tried to have it professionally scanned or the image captured in any different ways? The image that some will try to restore or enhance in any way is being attempted from a file that is only 176 pixels wide. Given that a pixel is a picture element - an eye is being made up by only 12-13 pixels. That is not a lot to resolve much detail. All that being said - here is a quick 15minute touchup.

[jmagarac]

Also... another long shot... but if you have no other means of capturing it in a scan that produces any better results that the current upload - there is always an outside chance that you might get some detail from even a phone camera. A Samsung Galaxy or an iPhone Pro - with macro capabilities, (short of nothing else) might be worth a try.

[McGroger]

My try.
Peter

[jmagarac]

Played with it a bit more. Actually - quite a bit. Don't think I can recreate or restore much more without "literally" making stuff up - or letting AI make stuff up. If you can ever get a slightly better scan... I can perhaps give it another go.

[sorrellk]

You must have spent a lot of time on this, and I am most grateful. He looks a lot like my Dad, actually and that along with your efforts have made him seem almost real!
I will look into your brilliant idea about getting a better scan - that's definitely a great suggestion.

Thanks also to everyone else who gave this their best shot. I realize I was asking the impossible!