Can someone date & place this studio photo portrait.

[Snoosh]

My first time post to this discussion board. This scan of a studio photo [250KB]has been forwarded to me by a relative. I do not have the original print. Photo quality is good. Name of photographer or studio is embossed at bottom right corner of cardboard photo mount. I can make out 61 or 81 Clapham Park Road, SW (obviously in London) below the name of phographer or studio. I cannot decipher that name. It looks like two initials followed by a short surname C R Barnes.
I do have some plausible dates, but I want avoid force fitting the photo to my family tree. When these kinds of studio pictures were taken would the outfits being worn be supplied by the studio, or would the customers come along in their best clothes?

[oldhippy]

I don't know if this makes it any better to see.

[Snoosh]

  Tks oldhippy for your reply #1. The answer to your question is no, it does not make it any easier for me to read. I could not read it before and I cant read it now. The bottom line is that I cannot decipher the studio name, and no amount of enhancing, zooming, colour reversal or image rotation will get me out of that predicament. I have made appeal to my relative who has the original to try & read the name and let me know, but to no avail so far.
It may however help somebody with a better knowledge of photographic studios in Clapham Park Road.  Once again, thank you for posting.

[gwynt]

Here are a couple of mentions of photographers at 81 Clapham Park Road from google:-

C Bown
http://boards.ancestry.com/thread.aspx?mv=flat&m=4523&p=localities.britisles.england.lnd.general

William Whiteman
http://www.photohistory-sussex.co.uk/HasWhitemanWm.htm

Hope this helps,
Gwyn

[gwynt]

And also an Arthur Bown at 77 Clapham Park Road:-
http://www.ericeames.com/genes/Bown.html

[Snoosh]

Tks all. Getting warmer. The surname Bown looks on the money. Now need to know what dates he was in business. In particular was he working around 1920. Obviously the narrower the date range the bigger the smile on my face. The address can only be 81 or perhaps 61 Clapham Park Road, SW. Ancestors lived in Wandsworth.

[Snoosh]

Tks all. Over on the deciphering board the gurus and magicians have taken a clip from my image and in no time have cracked the studio name at topic thread http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,406864.0.html. I take the name to be C. Bown.
Deciphering the phographer/studio name was a part of the puzzle. Dating the picture remains the issue on this board. I will now go the next step and perhaps ask if anyone challenges the notion that the photo was taken around 1920?

[jim1]

The clothes they are wearing are their own & the lads in shorts & socks would date this from about WW1.
The style of the photo is still in the Cabinet card style which pretty much died out by 1920.
1916-20 I would suggest.

jim

[PV]

Tks all. Over on the deciphering board the gurus and magicians have taken a clip from my image and in no time have cracked the studio name at topic thread http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,406864.0.html. I take the name to be C. Bown.
Deciphering the phographer/studio name was a part of the puzzle. Dating the picture remains the issue on this board. I will now go the next step and perhaps ask if anyone challenges the notion that the photo was taken around 1920?

For what it's worth, here's a photo done by another Bown at 81, Clapham Park Rd.  If my GGF was in his late-30s-early-40s, as he appears to be in the photo, that would place it in the 1905-1910 time frame.   There seems to be a string of Bowns in the business, over a 30-to40-year period.  Sorry about the 200 dpi scan ... I got it second-hand.

Phil