Help with dates please

[bruceward51]

I have these two photographs of the same young woman. She is Elizabeth Barnett, born in Templepatrick, Ireland in 1866. She moved to Scotland to marry William Stewart in 1894, but returned each year to visit her family in Ireland right up until she and William emigrated to Australia in 1913.

I am interested to get opinions on the dates of the two photographs to place them better in her life story. Both prints are on heavy board about 60x100 mm. The printer's mark on Card A reads 'Marion, Imp Paris'. The design on the back of print B is from the Cork Industrial Exhibition in 1883, and the printer's mark reads 'George Mason & Co.'.

My first thought was that she looks older on pic B, but if that was taken in 1883, it would make her very young in the other photo.

[Wiggy]

Just guessing mind you -   

I'd guess the first is very early 1880 and the second not too much later. 

Got a photo of a woman wearing a similar dress with the pleated bodice and extra 'skirt over the skirt -  it is marked 1880-82     
-  and another picture of someone with the big wide flounces and it is labelled 1885-7.

Those who know will be along soon.     

Wiggy

[PrueM]

Mid 1880s ish for both, but China and Jim will be able to tell us more.

My first thought was that they look like two different women - the second one has frizzy hair, the other very straight, for starters...

[Wiggy]

Actually I was wondering that too Prue - I wondered if they were mother and daughter with the same names!
I was thinking  the clothes look to close in time for the one person to have aged so much!

Wiggy

[bruceward51]

If it is any help, I have loaded higher res versions of these two photos, plus some others of the same person, onto my Picasa site for comparison. See https://picasaweb.google.com/bruceward51/SharedFolder?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCOajmOP4vfyPowE&feat=directlink

I don't have Eliza's mother's death date recorded, but I am fairly certain it was when Eliza was younger. She did have older sisters - I have similar photos of the next oldest and can pick the difference. I could load those up too if it would help.

[phillbrett68]

for photo b i will take a stab in the dark and say 1883 and no i am not going by the clothes they are wearing or anything the only reason i am going 1883 is the letters that are on the card i can see 111 and a few xxx to and above that something about an exhibition and then it says cork 1883 but this is a stab in the dark lol but hey thats me
hope it is sort of right good luck
phill

[Wiggy]

When were the names of the sitter added - at the time or much later?

 - if much later, they could have been mis-named, maybe.  Tricky when they both have the same name on them, but . . .   

Wiggy

[PrueM]

Good spot on the date, Phill   That would fit with the date suggested by the clothes.
The first photo is I think a few years earlier, as she is wearing the longer bodice popular in the early 1880s.

I do think they are different people, although very similar in the face.  Sisters, probably?
Photo A has "some determination there - EJB" written on it in what I would take to be contemporary handwriting, so you could fairly confidently say that lady is Elizabeth. 

[Wiggy]

The OP does say the second was taken 1883 actually      Though it could have been card stock from that year I suppose.   

That does mean they were taken very close together doesn't it ?