Every Monday a new case study of a picture typical of old family photographs will be published.
These examples can help genealogists learn the skills that will help date their own photos.
An estimated date (if one was not available) will be given with a +/- number of years it could be. Dating old photos is a science that provides answers usually within 2 - 6 years of when the photo was taken.
Past Cases
Front Side
Back
Explanation
Est. Date: 1874 +/- 3 Years
Rounded Corners > 1870
'Cameo' Oval 1870s
Busy neckline
Tight hair style
Horizontal back imprint
Photos did not change much throughout the 1870s, but are easy to identify. decade..
Factory rounded card corners were introduced around 1870.
Oval masked pictures were common throughout the 1870s.
A lot of lace and front adornment is found in the early 1870s.
Tightly braided hair from early/mid 1870s. Became more sculpted in late 1870s.
Horizontal back imprints are mostly seen in the 1870s.
View the 1870s section in Gallery for similar images. Click Here
How You can become an expert at analyzing photographs.
Much of the information used to analyze this photograph is covered in the Identification section of this web site. In addition, comparison to similar yet dated photographs in the Gallery section will help confirm the estimates. Even greater detail, organized for this type of research is available in PhotoTree.com's books. Learn More.
