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Old Photographs, Recognition, Handwriting Deciphering => Handwriting Deciphering & Recognition => Topic started by: Ray T on Monday 01 October 12 10:11 BST (UK)
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A total long-shot but can anyone hazard a guess where and when this photo was taken (and possibly why)?
The options are (i) Montreal - which I think unlikely, (ii) Birkenhead - possibly or (iii) Manchester - most likely but where exactly?
As to date, I would say sometime in the 1940s but can anyone place it before or after 1945?
Why? It has the look of those old photographs taken by itinerant photographers who used to lurk on seaside promenades but it doesn't seem to be at the seaside and why is such an amateurish photograph taken of a single person?
Her name is Hilda by the way!
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Where is the photo? Hannah
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Sorry to disappoint you - I'm still trying to upload it! (Its only 115KB)
I keep getting the following message - "Sorry! There is already an attachment with the same filename as the one you tried to upload. Please rename the file and try again."
I've changed the filename twice but still get the same message!
Anyone?
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Hi Ray - try giving it a really obscure name that cannot possibly have been used on RC before.
Or perhaps you have already tried that?
Maggie
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See if this works then!
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Good - it worked ;D
But I'm afraid I cannot be any help with answering your question other than I would say not Montreal. The cars and bikes are using the left of the road aren't they.
Maggie
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I have a photo of my husband's grandmother walking up the main street of town. It was taken by a street photographer in the town she lived in (Scotland). I also have one of my father in law and a friend walking in town, both would have been taken in the late 40's, early 50's I think. Your photo reminds me of the ones in my possession.
I remember as late as the 80's there were still photographers on the street taking photos, this time you or your child could pose with a monkey which had a harness/strap on.
Maybe your photo was taken in a similar situation. Or...maybe my town is/was weird.. ;D
Jules
Edited to add: I've just remembered another photo where my husband was taken to the seaside by his grandmother and as they came off the ferry a photographer snapped a picture of them.
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....... I would say not Montreal. The cars and bikes are using the left of the road aren't they.
Good point Maggie - I should have spotted that myself!
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the more I look the more I wonder if its lord street southport,is that the whole photo or is there more at the top so that we could see the buildings.
mike
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the more I look the more I wonder if its lord street southport,is that the whole photo or is there more at the top so that we could see the buildings.
mike
I see what you mean Mike, it's something about the wide pavements. Unfortunately, what you see is all I have. I did say it was a long shot.
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;D ;D Would have been easier if it were a 'longer' shot - including some 'scenery'!! ;) ;) ;D
Wiggy
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;D ;D Would have been easier if it were a 'longer' shot - including some 'scenery'!! ;) ;) ;D
Wiggy
Tell me who took it and I'll ask them to take it again!
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Its interesting, isn't it, tell us about the original, a scanned negative, a contact print, an enlargement? the cyclist is no more blurred than the rest, I would think a box brownie at 1/50th woul have blurred her a bit. She is in short sleeves but most are wrapped up against the cold, her bike looks newish but the sun is hiding all the detail
Did manchester have its trams still in1948ish, I dont see any tramlines, but then I never saw the sun shine like that in Manchester :) :) :).
the direction of the sun is right for southport mid afternoon
Is the lady the subject or did she just walk into the shot, she is clearly in mid-walk and smartly dressed with gloves on, why keep it, I would not have printed it off given the price of printing paper then
mike
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OK I'll tell you what I know.
I'm told the lady is Hilda Wilkinson (born in Chorlton-cum-hardy, Manchester, circa 1900) who "married" my grandfather Henry Roberts in Montreal in 1928 before the pair came back to England in 1930. I say "married" as Henry was, at the time, married to someone else so they weren't actually married; legally speaking.
Henry died in 1945 after which Hilda continued to call herself Mrs Roberts so I suspect she never knew Henry was a bigamist. She left the home they'd share for 10 years, on the Wirral, sometime in 1946. I've no idea where she went although a relative of Hilda's, who sent me the photograph, remembers meeting her in Manchester during the mid-1940s.
Where she went, when she died, I have no idea but she had connections with Montreal, Birkenhead and Manchester.
The photograph is, I assume, a photographic copy of a print so its quite likely the "out of focus" impression it gives is as much to do with its copying as the original image. I think all point-and-shoot cameras before 1960 had a single 1:50 second shutter speed and, in those days, you didn't get the option of printing out individual shots; you had the film developed and printed in one go (contact prints or en-prints depending upon the size of the negatives). Whether 1:50 sec. would have blurred the cyclist is debatable.
I too have wondered about everyone but the cyclist being wrapped up. I've also wondered whether Hilda, who seems to be dressed up, was on her way to or from court in Birkenhead. The lodger she took on in 1945 was murdered although whether she was involved in the subsequent trial (Feb 1946) I don't know.
I think that the Manchester trams were gradually replaced by trolley-buses during the latter half of the 40's.
Whether any of this will help I don't know but I know you all like a good mystery!
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Would I be right in thinking that the length of the shadows indicate that it's Summer? This is born out by the dress of the cyclist but having said that the couple in the background look dressed for winter.
If it is summer the lady she is overdressed, possibly because she has been or is going somewhere important.
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I wonder if the real mystery is why was the photo taken and who by?
She does look dressed up for a court case doesn't she, I wonder , since murders were less common iin those days and attracted lots of media attention, it was hastily taken by a newspaper photographer--------ie: his landlady on her way to or from giving evidence---- its not a holiday shot or a posed picture of a friend I dont think.
Unless of course the photographer was panning the attractive cyclist and she just got in the way---but then who would know who she was
mike
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I've read maggies thoughts again and I'm not sure the sun ever gets that high in february
perhaps we will never know
mike
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Not sure about the place but with a wide pavement I would have thought designed for a lot of people walking so could possibly be a seaside town. However as it is not crowded it could be 'out of season'.
The way Hilda is dressed her jacket looks like it is a short sleeved type that ends at the elbows and the 'crumpled' look to the forearms could be either a blouse or maybe long gloves.
Wonder if the photo could have been taken by someone she knew but it wasn't until the film was developed that it was discovered the picture wasn't clear.
Jean
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This is frustrating! How do I access the picture?
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Scroll down, its with post number 4. Welcome to rootschat, by the way, seems a strange (historic) thread for your first post. Do you have some sort of connection with Hilda?
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It's not showing here as well.
Must be the works computer blocking the image.
Regards
Malky
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It doesn't show on my computer which is at home. I could only access via clicking on the file name which brought it up on Windows photo gallery page.
Must be some way the photo was originally uploaded as I have found some other photo's on RC being the same.
Jean
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There's nothing pecuilar about the way it was uploaded. Its simply a jpeg (<60kb). I can see it OK on my iPad.
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How odd.
I can see it perfectly in the normal way on my PC running XP and also on my iPad .
Maggie
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All I can see with post #4 is a large rectangle with a small cross in the top left hand corner. I've actually belonged to RootsChat for some time but haven't been using it. No connection with Hilda, by the way.
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It may be the browser you are using. The picture is coming up fine with firefox and chrome. Not sure about explorer. Something similar was happening with avatars with explorer a short while back.
Steve