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Old Photographs, Recognition, Handwriting Deciphering => Free Photo Restoration & Date Old Photographs => Topic started by: blueskyehelen on Saturday 28 January 23 10:19 GMT (UK)
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Could someone please give an idea of date for this photo which I'm guessing is a wedding, due to the flowers in the hand of the woman sitting. There is a bit of confusion between family members as to who is in the photo. Either a couple who we know married in Australia or a couple who married in England. However, I have noticed at the bottom there is an embossed imprint of the photographer, which looks like Eastbourne? This could then put the photo as possibly being taken in England, somewhere around Eastbourne, Sussex.
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It looks Edwardian to me.
Is it possible to scan the photo so that the name of the photography studio is complete? You can see that there is more to the name underneath "The Eastbourne"
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..
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Thanks for the reply. Believe me if I had the actual photo I would have ensured I had the whole image when scanning, including the embossed writing. The image I have is an electronic copy from a cousin, so am in the process of finding out who has the original. Yes its definitely Edwardian, but was wondering if anyone can judge by the fashion whether it was closest to 1900 or later say 1915. Minnie Griffin (at back) emigrated to Adelaide, Australia in Oct 1915, so the photo had to be taken before then. Just wanting to get an idea from the style of the dresses and hats what decade. Also is the dress on the woman sitting, a bridal dress? Did they have bridesmaids in that era? Trying to figure out if the three were siblings at a wedding, or if the front couple are the newlyweds.
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Those hats were in fashion for a few years from about 1906 to 1910. Similarly, the man's collar was of the same date.
Gadget
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Thank you :D
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If they were newlyweds, I think the bride would be showing her ring. The man is showing his. Could it be siblings at his wedding? Would the ages/dates be right for that?
Peter
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Thanks Peter,
Yes that is my drift of thought too. I am pursuing that possibility and have discovered one of Minnie's brothers married in 1906, with Minnie's sister Nellie, a witness on the certificate. So it is very possible it is picture of Minnie and Nellie with their newly married brother. To me the women look more like bridesmaids (especially the one seated) than the bride, that is why I am asking if anyone knows a thing or too about Edwardian wedding fashion and etiquette. Gadget's tip about the hats being a short term fashion statement between 1906-10 makes sense and would fit the possible scenario. Also would a bride wear such a hat?
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I'm just wondering if the seated woman with the flowers could be the bride. I'll try to blow up her hand to see if there is an outline of a ring - or maybe Petr of japeflakes could do it :)
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Hi Gadget,
Ive just blown it up but can't make out an outline of a ring. Ive just been Googling Edwardian wedding fashion and discovered they did indeed have bridesmaids. Interestingly the bridesmaids wore big hats while the bride had a white veil or white hat. Apparently white was all the rage for the bride. Another interesting bit I gleaned was the bouquet was invariably very big and trailing. She is holding a small spray, which again is making me wonder if she was his sister and not the bride. Oh how I wish they wrote names on the back of the photos!! Would save so much speculation!
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I've just fiddled with the exposure. I'm not sure. There are some marks on ring finger but as it;s greatly enlarged it's difficult ....
If yo u have the original, maybe you could scan that part of the photo at a high resolution.
Gadget
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Here's an example of a bride wearing a 'slightly' smaller hat:
http://www.rootschat.com/links/01s2p/
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Thanks. I think though if you look closely its not a hat but her hair and the flowers a wreath. I just read that orange blossom wreaths were all the rage and the hair was usually in an upswept big mass (cant think of the proper word). If you scroll down the link, you actually see the waxed orangeblossom headress in a box.
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What do you think of my enlargement of the glove?
Re the hat/ garland - I could not find anything speedily on the web but I have examples of hats in my own books. It would be a breach of copyright to put them up.
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I'm not sure but I thought the lady looked like she was wearing gloves.
The two and half inch men's collar was in fashion between 1907-1911 this supports Gadget's estimate.
Lovely photo.
Carol
Added, Just noticed Gadget's scan! I jumped in on the first page
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Carol - you and I have done quite a few facial comparisons in our time, so what do you think about the likenesses between the three? I can see a good likeness between the groom and the lady behind but less with them and the seated lady.
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Yes I agree Gadget, the lady at the front doesn't share any of the facial features with the Lady at the back and the gent .
Carol
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Thanks Gadget and Carol, your insights have been very helpful. I totally agree the gent and Minnie at the back definitely look alike, so am certain they are brother and sister. Maybe the woman seated is his bride, and not Minnie's sister Nellie. If you ladies are good at facial recognition, here is a photo of Nellie(L) and Millie (R) a number of years later. I personally can see a resemblance between Nellie in the wedding shot and the older Nellie is this shot though.
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I can't see any similarity between the 'bride' and either of the older ladies.
:-\
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Sorry to disappoint but I don't see any similarities to the ladies in the first photo. In the first photo, the lady at the back and the gent have the same dark looks, the lady at the front looks very fair compared to the others, thereby I would rule out a relation between the two women in the first photo
Just my thoughts.
Carol
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In the photo of the two sisters in later life I can understand what you mean, because they are sufficiently different looking to each other. I'm not sure though whether I think they are the same ladies in the first photo. :-\
As Carol said, it is a really lovely photo.
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One of the reasons that I couldn't see a likeness was the noses of the older ladies. Noses tend to grow longer with age but they have 'snub' noses. Both ladies in the wedding photo have longer and slimmer noses.
As we age, our nasal skin becomes thinner, and the nose structure weakens and loses support. These changes cause the nasal tip to droop, making the nose look longer. Gravity will have the same effect on the nose as it does on facial skin around the eyes, cheeks, and jowls.
https://www.newfaceny.com/blog/how-does-our-nose-shape-change-with-age/
Do you have any photos of the brother(s)?
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Thanks for all the responses. A lot of food for thought. The one definite is Minnie. We have enough family photos to recognise her instantly. She is standing at the back in the wedding photo and on the right in the older photo. We know for a fact also the other older lady (L) is her sister Nellie. She actually was quite fair, while Minnie was olive skinned. Anyway, I am sure with all the info gleaned from this discussion, we may be able to eventually identify the seated lady. Unfortunately at this stage we have no other photos of the gent. The main thing I wanted was a rough idea on date range and your insights have helped with this so thank you :)
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As you are sure they are both Minnie, I'll just add this to show how people's facial features can change over the years.
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It looks like the lady sitting down is wearing gloves.