What was the Date?
* What was the Date?
What was the Date?
Place your mouse over the photograph on the right to see the back of the photo.
m Click on the title below to open the story window. Here you can see photos which have both the year and the state stamped on the edge by the developer. When you close the story window you will still be here.
Dates can sometimes be found within the photo, not just on or around it. Click on the title below to open a java window. Take a quick look beyond the focus of the photo in the window that opens and find the year it was taken. When you close the java window you will still be here.
The Car.
This is a Java Applet pop up window.Your photo may not have an actual date to be found on or within the photo but other things visible in it can help date it for you. Look for things in your photo that represent a time period such as old cars or household items. The styles of clothes the people are wearing can be very helpful in many photos. Here are some web sites that can help with dating items.
Joyrides
(This link will open in a new window)
Brief histories of classic United States automobiles from the past 100 years. A photo gallery of classic cars is also included.Simply Switch it On!:
(This link will open in a new window)
A virtual museum of small early electrical appliances.The Costume's Manifesto:
(This link will open in a new window)
Here you can find graphics covering costumes from the time of Ancient Babylon to today.Since the first family photographs until today's digital photos, the process for taking photos has changed greatly. Can you imagine what people thought when they first saw a photograph? Today we are surrounded by photographs everywhere we look. We take the existence of photography for granted. Click on the title below to open a pop up window. When you close the window you will still be here.
A Brief Timeline of Photographic History.
When working with older photos the type of photo may help you estimate when it was taken.
1839 - 1860
Daguerreotype:
These images were produced on a silver coated copper plate. When you view the photo from different angles it changes. The photo must be held at the correct angle to see the picture. The exposure time for these took several minutes and the subject had to stand very still for the full time. It is not likely you will find a daguerreotype photo with a person smiling. They were asked not to smile. After all, who would want to hold a smile after having to stand absolutely still for that long? Photographers used braces which would hold their subject's head still. Sometimes these braces can be seen if you are looking for them. These photos are most commonly found in a case or frame. The cases or frames sometimes had the photographer's name, which could be a clue to the date.1855 - 1865
Ambrotype:
These images were produced on a glass plate with a black backing. The black backing could be velvet, paper, varnish, or in some cases the glass that was used was dark in color. The black backing was necessary to bring the otherwise see through image into focus. Ambrotypes did not require as long of an exposure time, or as much skill to produce a good photograph.Ambrotype and daguerreotype both used the same sort of cases. The “Union” case was patented in 1854. These cases were made from shellac and sawdust. If you have a photo with this type of case it would narrow the date to between 1854-1860. With both ambrotype and daguerreotype there was only one original taken. If a person wanted more copies at that time they had to do another sitting.
1856 - 1945
Tintype:
These images were produced on a varnished iron plate. Also known as ferrotype, these photographs do not have the reflective qualities of the ambrotype and daguerreotype. Many more tintype photographs were taken because they were less expensive to produce and this process was used over a long period of time. For these reasons a tintype photograph may be harder to date. For these you may have to look deeper for clues such as dates on the edge, names or dates written within the cases, or the photographer trade marks. Some photographers placed their business card behind the photograph. Between September 1, 1864 and August 1, 1866 in the Untied States there was a revenue stamp required on photographs because of the war. This stamp was placed on the back of the photograph and was to be hand canceled and dated by the photographer. The canceling across the stamp is usually the photographer's name or initials, but in some cases there is just an X through the stamp. The date written for the stamp is the date that photograph was sold. Tintypes were usually placed in a case or on a paper matte.Ambrotypes, daguerreotypes, and tintypes all produced a mirrored image; people will appear to be wearing their wedding rings on the wrong hand and other clues can appear to be opposite.
1830 - 1870
Photograph Cards:
Older paper prints were mounted on card stock. With over twenty different types of card photographs it can take some research to find out what kind yours is. The most commonly found of these card photographs today are the cabinet or cartes de viste cards.Carte de viste cards begin in 1854 and continued to be made through the 1920's. These cards measured 41/2 inches by 2 1/2 inches.
Cabinet cards begin in 1862 but were used first to take scenic photographs. It was not until 1866 that the cabinet photographs were used to take portraits. These cards measured 41/2 inches by 6 1/2 inches.
Place your mouse over the card on the right to see the back of the photo.
This photograph is of my great grandfather Benjamin R. Clark and his niece Hazel Borders. We think he was possibly 8 or 9. We know he was born in 1901. So, we are estimating the date of this photograph to be 1909 or 1910.
You can research more information on dating old photographs by checking the following links.
Classy Image-Portraiture, Restorations & Imaging
(This link will open in a new window)
Here you can find excellent information on the different kinds of old photographs and the dates they were popular.19th Century Photography:
(This link will open in a new window)
Another site with detailed information on dating old photos for genealogists.Cyndi's List:
(This link will open in a new window)
This is a HUGE site of links to everything about genealogy. Within this site is a section titled Photographs & Memories where you can find more links on dating old photographs.
When you seriously look for a photo's date, we have found another thing to consider. Is your photo image real or staged? The photo you have may seem to be a very old photo but just how old is it really? The clothing and accessories are of an old style, the faces of the people resemble your family traits closely, but......
Put your mouse over the photo above to find out when that photo was taken.
