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Old Photographs, Recognition, Handwriting Deciphering => Free Photo Restoration & Date Old Photographs => Topic started by: Busy B on Tuesday 19 August 14 22:37 BST (UK)
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We have an album of Scottish relations descended from my ggggrandfather James Bowie who left Scotland around 1880 to come to U.S. He was born in 1851 and supposed came from the"Moray" area. Family notes say he had been married to a Jessie in Scotland and that he had been in the Scotland Yard. We do not know who his parents were.
Sadly, the photos were never identified, so we don't know who they are. Hoping to connect with a Scottish Bowie cousin that might recognize some of them.
Would love any input on their fashion styles or perhaps occupations the men might have from their accessories or clothing? Anything that might point to who they might have been that I could cross check against census occupations in counties where the photos were taken. A Scottish friend thought beret type hat on one of the young men looked like a sailor? Many of them look too well dressed and coiffed to have worked hard labor jobs such as farming or mining.
I have a blog with all my info on my James Bowie, along with all the photos from the album at http://busybeetraveler.wordpress.com/2012/10/07/james-frank-bowie-1851-1930-scottish-immigrant/.
Look forward to hearing any input!
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Lovely photos but can't help with dates but this will bring it back up the board for the daters.
Carol
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You are so lucky to have so many lovely family photos. The experts will be along soon to date these for you but I just wanted to comment that Scotland Yard is in London and is the headquarters for the police. Not sure if this is what you are referring to.
Have you asked for help tracing your Bowie family? You should start a new thread on the Scotland board if you would like some help - give details of everything you know about the family and provide a link to this thread with the photos, as I'm sure everyone will be inspired to search for them if they have some (probable) faces to put to the names.
Just to add that I don't think the chap wearing the beret looks very nautical at all, but I may be wrong.
I expect the families were fairly well to do - most of them (some more than others ;)) have a well to do look about them.
PS, try googling the photographers - there is some information about them online.
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Can't date them all individually as there are too many.
Most are early-mid 1870's with a couple or more mid-late 1870's.
The last 2 early 1880's.
missed one I think is no. 6 late 1860's.
The chap next to her wearing the tam o' shanter also looks 1860's.
he had been in the Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard is the Metropolitan Police Service in London.
notice some are holding books indicating literacy & 1 is holding an 1850's Ambrotype.
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The "beret" is a Tam O Shanter or a Balmoral bonnet, not Nautical headwear.
Such a treasure of photographs.
James
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Hard to tell social position from old pic's, the furniture is in an artists studio and as getting your "photy" taken was a bit of an event, they dressed up for the occasion, a wedding ditto. They're obviously well turned out, so not skint.
Skoosh.
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Bowie by Howie!
Congratulations
Rudolf
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The hats (if you want to get ahead get a hat!) look a bit dodgy, were they studio props like the books & walking canes? the bairns (it is Edinburgh, it would be weans in Glasgow) look genuine enough though. :)
I'm sure the next generation of Bowie's would be knotting themselves looking at the album.
Skoosh..
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Fifth row down - the couple each holding a baby (possibly one male and one female) ....
I keep coming back to this one - possibly am wrong (probably/hopefully) but ....
that's not a post mortem photo is it?
Or are the babies sleeping? :-\
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are the babies sleeping?
I think the poster is.
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are the babies sleeping?
I think the poster is.
;D
That seems to be the case.
What do you reckon Jim - are those babies deceased?
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Or are the babies sleeping?
Scottish whisky - just to keep them quiet !? ;)
Rudolf
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Not far off. I believe I read somewhere that Laudanum was sometimes rubbed into gums.
P.M's of babies were usually taken in a cot & made to look asleep.
Difficult to pose like this on parents laps as wires were used to prop them up.
With children & adults this was done while parents were out of the room because of the distress.
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This site may well be of use for the Huntly and Elgin photographers, telling you when they were active and thus confirm any possible dates: http://www.victorianphotographers.co.uk/ However, it requires you to purchase the information.
The Edinburgh photo site is free though!
Howie, junr - information can be found here:
http://www.edinphoto.org.uk/PP_D/pp_howie_family_james_1820.htm
From the same site, Charles Wright was at 54 Cockburn Street Edinburgh 1864-67 and T V Begbie of 7 Leith Street was at that address from 1874-81
Nimmo & Son was at the two addresses on South Bridge from 1868-96
http://www.edinphoto.org.uk/0_CAR/0_cartes_de_visite_0_nimmo+son.htm shows the back of some cartes de visite which might help you date these more accurately
The South Bridge was home to many photographers during this period:
http://www.edinphoto.org.uk/S/street_South_B.htm#39%20South%20Bridge
Street directories might also be useful if you have the addresses from the back of the photo to narrow the dates.
http://digital.nls.uk/directories/browse/pageturner.cfm?id=91047488
Nell
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Not far off. I believe I read somewhere that Laudanum was sometimes rubbed into gums.
P.M's of babies were usually taken in a cot & made to look asleep.
Difficult to pose like this on parents laps as wires were used to prop them up.
With children & adults this was done while parents were out of the room because of the distress.
I did wonder if they were drugged. :)
They look as though they are leaning back a little but still held up by the parents. The one on the right in particular I thought looked odd as he appears to have his hands clasped which I don't think a baby would do for any length of time ...
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Difficult to tell without knowing who they are, will have to put it down as a maybe.
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Thanks so much for all the comments and input on this sampling of my photo collection! Wow! that's interesting to know they are earlier than I thought. I will look into the photographer histories.
So what does that mean about the young man that has a Balmoral Tam'OShanter hat? Did he play an instrument in one of the bands? Were there not many baby photos from that period that several of you are intrigued with the two babies?
Here's a few more : )
The fellow I'm attaching looks the most like my great, great grandfather Bowie. I think I found that Bashford was operating at that location on the years on wrote on it.
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A Tam o Shanter, Tammy, Blue Bonnet, Balmoral so called, was the general headgear for Scots for centuries. The town of Kilmarnock, amongst others was noted for their Bonnetmakers and they were included amongst the town guilds. Here Glasgow.
http://www.tradeshouse.org.uk/individual-crafts.aspx
Skoosh.
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What an amazing collection of family photographs you have Busy B! :)
(PS. The discussion about the babies was not because it was rare for them to be photographed, it was because I thought that the babies looked very quiet and still and I was just wondering if they might have been deceased when photographed. I'm not sure that the others think that way though, but I was just interested in their opinions, and there is not really enough detail in the images to know for sure. ;))
Some examples here:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2450832/Victorian-photographs-relatives-posing-alongside-dead-bodies.html
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A bit like the House of Lords. ;D
Skoosh.