Jack, I have two large portraits similar to that of the illustrious gentleman in your dining room. They are also large and are of my grandmother and her sister. I was fortunate to be able to have them conserved by a professional conservator, Nina Freed, several years ago. She found that they are solar enlargements, a method by which larger prints of photographs could be made. This method was popular in the mid to late 19th century and maybe a squeak inside the 20th. If your portrait is a solar enlargement, that may provide a clue to the era of photography. Unfortunately, I don't know how you can tell if a picture is a solar enlargement or not.
Great article, thank you. Identifying old photos is hard. Your grandmother’s attic is a treasure trove. But I also plead with people to keep a copy of their own original photo if they crop it, because the background may be important for identification (we all forget), and of sentimental value.
I sort of inherited ( my parents are alive but both have dementia, the boxes were sent to me after we moved them to memory care) boxes of photos. I spent a couple weeks sharing them on FB to the delight of nieces, nephews, aunts, cousins & 2nd cousins. And it turned out I got many of the ones without written identification on them identified (& that identification often corroborated) during that sharing! I only have four left that I don’t have identification for. One is a huge family photo, 28 people in it. Some people think they recognized the location as my 2nd great grandfather’s farm. All the siblings in my 3rd great grandparents and great grandparents families had lots of kids. They all lived in two adjacent Michigan counties. I now intend to find FB groups, genealogy societies, and historical societies for those counties and post the picture and ask if anyone can identify anyone in it ( I figure some descendants have to have their own family copies with names listed).
Jack, I have two large portraits similar to that of the illustrious gentleman in your dining room. They are also large and are of my grandmother and her sister. I was fortunate to be able to have them conserved by a professional conservator, Nina Freed, several years ago. She found that they are solar enlargements, a method by which larger prints of photographs could be made. This method was popular in the mid to late 19th century and maybe a squeak inside the 20th. If your portrait is a solar enlargement, that may provide a clue to the era of photography. Unfortunately, I don't know how you can tell if a picture is a solar enlargement or not.
Great article, thank you. Identifying old photos is hard. Your grandmother’s attic is a treasure trove. But I also plead with people to keep a copy of their own original photo if they crop it, because the background may be important for identification (we all forget), and of sentimental value.
I sort of inherited ( my parents are alive but both have dementia, the boxes were sent to me after we moved them to memory care) boxes of photos. I spent a couple weeks sharing them on FB to the delight of nieces, nephews, aunts, cousins & 2nd cousins. And it turned out I got many of the ones without written identification on them identified (& that identification often corroborated) during that sharing! I only have four left that I don’t have identification for. One is a huge family photo, 28 people in it. Some people think they recognized the location as my 2nd great grandfather’s farm. All the siblings in my 3rd great grandparents and great grandparents families had lots of kids. They all lived in two adjacent Michigan counties. I now intend to find FB groups, genealogy societies, and historical societies for those counties and post the picture and ask if anyone can identify anyone in it ( I figure some descendants have to have their own family copies with names listed).
Very interesting! I had never thought about using the items around the photos as clues :)
Good advice, Jack!