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Old Photographs, Recognition, Handwriting Deciphering => Free Photo Restoration & Date Old Photographs => Topic started by: bruceward51 on Monday 11 June 12 13:26 BST (UK)
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This image is of William Stewart, born in Scotland in 1869, died in Queensland, Australia in 1935. Served in the Black Watch Regiment and saw active service in the Boar War. Served as Police Constable in Edinburgh from 1902 to about 1911. Also served in Ireland, either as policeman or with the regiment, in the 1890s.
Two copies of the same photo, on mounts of two separate photographers! Front of one shown and back of the other (it has more information). I suspect the second print has been pasted onto a reused board as the photo partially covers the photographer's name. Certainly taken in Ireland though.
The back of one print suggests he is in piper's uniform, but I think this unlikely. He was a bandsman, but was the 'big drummer' according to newspaper clippings, incorrectly reporting his death in the Boer War. I think it is more likely this is some form of Lodge regalia.
So if anyone can help with the date and perhaps some information on the regalia, that would be great thanks.
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Hi and welcome to Rootschat...He only looks to be in his late teens..could you scan just the shield on his collar at a resolution of 1200dpi and we could try to indentify any writing on it...I don't think it's a Freemason's Regalia as there is no Square & Compass.
The daters wiil be along soon to help you :D
Carol
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The back is typical 1880's but can still be seen early 1890's.
The regalia may be Orange Order,I've seen one similar to this.
jim
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Just spotted the MIP date code of 1887.
jim
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Jim ... what's an MIP date code please ??
(Trying to learn from an expert !!)
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Marion Imp Paris were the worlds largest card manufacturers.From 1880-1900 they put a code next to their name on the bottom of the cardstock.It's not fully understood as it varies with Quotes (").However quotes to the left of the name indicate 1880's & to the right 1890's although you can see cards without quotes.There's also a series of dots & dashes which seem to indicate a date. 2 dots with l/h quotes = 1882.The confusion arrives (if it hasn't already) with the introduction of dashes.The general consensus of opinion ( ok it's Roger Vaughan & me) is that a dash indicates after 1885 or 1895 (see reference to quotes) so a dash followed by 2 dots & a dash ( _ .. _ ) = 1887.
Glad you asked?
jim
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THere was something similar to this posted not too long ago. I will see if I can find a link to the discussion. (added: I found the discussion but the original poster has removed the photographs :-\)
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I'm wondering if he could be a member of the "Good Templars"...and C.T. could be "Chief Templar"
Carol
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Yes Jim ....glad I asked ! Its interesting ... I wonder how many people notice the dots and dashes !
Thanks you.
Ruskie .... is it worth putting up the link ?
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Not identical, but a similar style :
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,443595.msg3069209.html#msg3069209
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,445038.msg3078022.html#msg3078022
Pels.
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Thank you everyone! This is all good information. The date of 1887 would make him 18 years old, which matches his appearance.
I have attached the requested high-res scan of the shield, but I could make nothing out on it.
I have also attached another scan of the two prints of the same photo. The one on the left is about 5x7 inch, the other is about 2x4. I was interested that it is on two different card mounts, one from Belfast and one from Limmerik. The back scanned above is the right hand photo. The back of the other is dark grey and blank.
I also have another photo of this fellow's children, from the same Belfast studio, taken about 1908 I think (based on the ages of the children.
The story is that while serving in Ireland, he met an Irish girl, who he took home to Scotland and married. They lived in Edinburgh, but the wife and children spent six weeks every year in Ireland. Luckily, someone in the family was very photo-oriented, so we have a good spread of photos of William right through to old age.
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Seems to me you should be able to get a better image of that shield...did you rescan it at 1200dpi as suggested? We can help if you're not sure how to do it.
Cheers,
China
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I don't think the detail is there. I scanned at 400% with 300 dpi output, which is 1200 dpi I think. I also set the scanner to 48 bit colour for the scan, only dropping back to 8 bit mode before saving the JPG. I have been back to the larger of the two originals and examined it in good light with a magnifying glass and it looks just the same as the scan - just a few blobs of grey. Pity I know.
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Yes....it looks as if there should be more detail.
You might try posting the regalia in the Common Room or maybe Deciphering and Recognition for broader exposure. Someone should know it.
Cheers,
China
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I just tried uploading the photo to Google Images...no joy :P
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Im am sure there is no more detail in the shield - it is not the scan, it is the original image that is deficient. I will try the Masonic site suggested in one of the other threads for the regalia, and if I get no joy there will try some of the other rooms as suggested.
Thanks all. This has been great!