This article was posted on RootsWeb Review - and I thought it may be of interest and use to some of you :-) Rosemary Northumberland UK Email: [email protected] Family History: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~rprobert/ Banburyshire Website: http://www.rootsweb.com/~engcbanb/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Digital Genealogist: Identifying Photographs and Photographers By Mary Harrell-Sesniak [email protected] "Genealogy is not just a pastime; it's a passion." Photo portraits are a real joy; that is, if you can identify who's in them. But if you can't, participate in the RootsWeb Photography Message Board, where pleas for help are posted in droves. You'll learn all about analyzing photographs. http://boards.rootsweb.com/topics.methods.photography/mb.ashx Here are some recent subject lines from queries I found on the board: "Dating Old Tintype or Daguerreotype" "Is there a hierarchy in old photos?" Some of our knowledgeable volunteers chimed in and shed light on these and other questions. I found their commentary helpful and intriguing. DATING OLD TINTYPE OR DAGUERREOTYPE For example, RootsWebber Ron Mesnard replied to the first query (the poster asked for help with dating an old, "metal" picture). He explained the difference between tintypes and daguerreotypes, and gave date ranges for each. He wrote: "TTs [tintypes] are photos on metal instead of paper. Often they are not framed. Dags [daguerreotypes] were short lived--1840 to 1865. TTs were very long lived (1850 to maybe 1900). They were most popular circa the Civil War but they were used at carnivals much later than that." IS THERE A HIERARCHY IN OLD PHOTOS? The second query was written by a user trying to determine how several individuals in a family photograph were related. She knew the two individuals in the center were her great-grandparents, but who were the two women (one older and one younger) on the right and the man on the left? Were the man and the older woman married? Then why were they on opposite ends of the photograph? View the full query and the photo itself here: http://boards.rootsweb.com/topics.methods.photography/379/mb.ashx None of the responders had definitive answers, of course, but their dialogue was fascinating. One person felt that positioning is usually traditional in photographs; that is, a son would typically be next to a mother, and a wife would be next to a husband, and so forth. Therefore, the two were probably not related. However, he pointed out that the girl and adult female on the right were touching. This indicated a closer relationship--presumably that of a mother and her daughter. Other members suggested the man and woman were not married at all, but were brother and sister, and that the younger girl was another sibling. And yet another user suggested that the man was engaged to the younger of the two women, who was standing by her mother. Perhaps, he posited, the engaged couple did not feel appropriate standing next to each other until they were married. PHOTOGRAPHERS One of the best clues to a photograph isn't in the picture--it is on the back. Turn your mystery photo over and note the name of the photographer or studio. Often an image can be dated from this information alone. Some items to research include: 1. When did the photographer live? 2. What was the photographer's career date range? 3. Where was the location of the studio? 4. Was a logo or watermark used? 5. What type of photo was it--what medium was used and what size was it? 6. Did the artist have a specialty (e.g., military, carnival, or funeral photography)? 7. Did the artist travel or work primarily in the studio? 8. What backdrops and props were placed in the photo? Some clues are subtler than others. To determine if a photograph was taken in a studio or elsewhere, look at the lighting. Take another look at the "Hierarchy" photo discussed above. There is light streaming between the subjects' legs. Studio light is positioned higher, so in my opinion, the light in that photograph was natural light, such as that from a window. Any other ideas? Post your opinions. We'll be reading the commentary with interest. WEBSITES ABOUT PHOTOGRAPHERS Several RootsWeb users have developed websites about photographers. Brett Payne of Tauranga, New Zealand, created one of the more extensive and interesting ones, "A Perspective on Photographers and Photographic Studios in Derbyshire, England." http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~brett/photos/dbyphotos.html Although not a professional photographer, Brett reports that he has been actively engaged in genealogical research for more than ten years. His homepage features an in-depth portfolio of nineteenth- and twentieth-century professionals covering more than 460 studios and fifteen photographers. There is a very interesting introduction by David Simkin and examples of each photographer's work are included. Brett says this about the site: "The index and profiles of Derbyshire studios were created primarily as aids to family history research. . . . The work was initiated as an extension to my research into my own Derbyshire ancestors, and subsequently developed into a resource, which I hoped would be of use to fellow researchers. The great advantage of putting the index on the Web is that I've been able to harness the contributions of images from many, many other family history researchers all over the world, without whom it just would be a rather boring, if useful, list of names." Brett is particularly interested in the interpretation of old photographs that provide something of a detective challenge and recommends his sister site, "Photo-Sleuth," and another one that currently features an analysis of a picture titled "Dead Horse Photo." Take time to read the analysis. It covers shadow angles, camera lenses, and comparisons to historical maps. http://photo-sleuth.blogspot.com/ http://forensicgenealogy.info/ Sites about other photographers can also be found at RootsWeb. Here are a few: AUSTRALIA and NEW ZEALAND 1. "Photographers in the Victorian North East" http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~surreal/AVNE/Resources/photographers.html 2. "Carnarvon Photographers" http://www.rootsweb.com/~wlsccaer/photographers.html CANADA 1. "Montreal Photographers, 1840-1950" www.rootsweb.com/~qcmtl-w/photographers.htm UNITED STATES a. Illinois: 1. "Adams County Photographers" http://www.rootsweb.com/~iladams/photographers.htm b. Indiana: 1. "Indianapolis Photographers" http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~vklein/ingen.html#photographers c. Iowa: 1. "IAGenWeb Photographers' Index" http://www.rootsweb.com/~iaphotos/PhotoShops/photoindex.htm 2. "Clarke County" http://www.rootsweb.com/~iaclarke/photographers.html d. Nebraska: 1. "Photographers in and Near Platte County, Nebraska" http://www.rootsweb.com/~neplatte/photographers.html e. New York: 1. "Cazenovia's Photographers of the Nineteenth Century" www.rootsweb.com/~nyccazen/MscLists/Photographers.html f. New York and Pennsylvania: 1. "Tri-Counties Genealogy and History: Photographers of Our Area" http://www.rootsweb.com/~srgp/photog/photog.htm g. Tennessee: 1. "Nineteenth Century Photographers of Pulaski and Giles County" http://www.rootsweb.com/~tngiles/hist/photogr.htm h. Wisconsin: 1. "Early Wisconsin Photographers" http://www.rootsweb.com/~wigenweb/photographers.html 2. "Juneau County, Wisconsin, Photographers" http://www.rootsweb.com/~wijuneau/photogrphrs.htm 3. "Rock County: Photographers by City/Village" http://www.rootsweb.com/~wirock/Photos/Photographer.html Previously published in RootsWeb Review: 31 October 2007, Vol. 10, No. 44. --