An examination and explanation of clues to establish the
date of 19th century photographs.
July 2, 2014
About the Case Studies
Photo Facts
Photo Type
Cabinet Card
Card Size
6.5" x 4.25"
Card Color
White
Card Edges
Straight Cut
Border
None
Front Imprint
Embossed
Photo Technology
Collodion
Each month a new photo case study typical of old family photographs is published.
These examples can help genealogists learn the skills that will help date their own photos.
An estimated date (if one is not available) is assigned 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.
Flag has 3 rows of 7 stars and 3 rows of 8 for a total of 45. Utah became the 45th state January 4, 1896. (Click for larger image)
Est. Date: 1897 +/- 1 Year
Numerous clues from this precious girl's photograph dates it to the later half of the 1890s.
The 2-color studio imprint is usually found after 1895
The soft-focus background (blurry) was used in the mid/late 1890s. This helped 'bad' photographers that were not good at keeping the depth-of-field (focus) only on the subject.
The dress' shoulders and sleeves are similar to adult styles of the time period..
Biggest giveaway - The flag has 45 stars, introduced when Utah became the 45th state in 1896. This made it too easy. Click Here for similar pictures of the 1890s.
Past Cases
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.
