How far can restoration be pushed? Mining Photograph

[tonepad]

Two people in the back row between the hoe and spade are holding wooden hay rakes aloft. Where the rake handles make a Y-shape and the rake heads and tines can be dimly seen.

Is it known which county the photo was taken?
Inland or coastal location?


Tony

[mike175]

For what it's worth, I think they are all male farm workers. I suggest they are posing for the photo and the tools are just 'props'. I don't think they are a work gang doing a particular job as the tools are too varied for any single farm job I can think of.

Back row: possibly a hoe or a shepherd's crook? two hayrakes, a staff as used by a cattle drover, and a spade. Front row possibly milking pails, and the man sitting centre left seems to be holding a milk dipper, used to measure out a pint or half-pint of milk into a jug or bottle.

They all seem to be wearing smocks which suggests a date in the late 19th century.

Just my feeling from studying the original photo. I did try enhancing it but with less success than some of the others here.

Mike.

[japeflakes]

Could it just be a collection of workers on a large farm?

[Dyingout]

Another Effort

[Prouty99]

Another Effort

Thanks for that sir. It's amazing some of the skills I see on here. Don't forget that the original didn't have sacks or grass though, I just added those for my own aesthetic reasons. Mike 175 pointed out what may be a second hay rake to the right held by the chap wearing the beanie hat

Having said that It seems that other things are coming out of this photo that took me a while to see

For what it's worth, I think they are all male farm workers. I suggest they are posing for the photo and the tools are just 'props'. I don't think they are a work gang doing a particular job as the tools are too varied for any single farm job I can think of.

Back row: possibly a hoe or a shepherd's crook? two hayrakes, a staff as used by a cattle drover, and a spade. Front row possibly milking pails, and the man sitting centre left seems to be holding a milk dipper, used to measure out a pint or half-pint of milk into a jug or bottle.

They all seem to be wearing smocks which suggests a date in the late 19th century.

Just my feeling from studying the original photo. I did try enhancing it but with less success than some of the others here.

Mike.

I took another look at this second hay rake and yes I can see a second hay rake, but this brings a second detective story. I see a hay rake with only the right part of the hay rake !  I have left a comparison of what I mean below in negative.

The left hay rake is pretty much a full rake in one photo, but the right rake only seems to have half a head, so the question is if that is a hay rake then what kind of a hay rake only has one side of a head?

[Prouty99]

For what it's worth, I think they are all male farm workers. I suggest they are posing for the photo and the tools are just 'props'. I don't think they are a work gang doing a particular job as the tools are too varied for any single farm job I can think of.

Back row: possibly a hoe or a shepherd's crook? two hayrakes, a staff as used by a cattle drover, and a spade. Front row possibly milking pails, and the man sitting centre left seems to be holding a milk dipper, used to measure out a pint or half-pint of milk into a jug or bottle.

They all seem to be wearing smocks which suggests a date in the late 19th century.

Just my feeling from studying the original photo. I did try enhancing it but with less success than some of the others here.

Mike.

Just for the record here I'm with mike 175 on this, it seems to me that the photo is staged and the range of tools is way to varied for any one occupation

Also, could that 'half a hay rake' actually be a Cradle Scythe?

If so, then the distant frames for growing hops aren't really there

[mazi]

I’m with Mike on this one, that is very likely a pint milk dipper. But could be used for any liquid.

Those metal buckets are for liquids, nobody would carry a metal bucket to harvest fruit or hops or grain, baskets or sacks are more practical

Mike

[mazi]

I’ve had another look at the original, thinking afresh and am now wondering about harvesting grapes for wine, they are picked very ripe and it’s the juice you want, hence the metal buckets.

Ever the devils advocate I’m not sure it’s in the UK

Mike

[Prouty99]

I was thinking of a milk dipper as well but that would introduce yet another profession of dairy farming along with the hay rake (cereal), Hoe (Ground work), Sacks (Gathering of things to bag up), etc

I also noticed something about the clothing. See the guy on the far right with the spade? He's wearing plus fours ! Which would suggest a country gentleman of some education rather than an uneducated farm hand, yet he's wearing overalls over the top

Plus fours would suggest 1920's and his posture suggests an ex military man.

Also the guy to his right appears to be wearing a cape ! Again, a cape for an uneducated farm hand? And his head gear is really unusual. My first instinct is that he's a vet. He also has some kind of strange arrangement below his chin in the chest area that I can't make out. Maybe the hat is a medical scrub hat and the arrangement at his chest area is a mask he has just untied and is hanging in the chest area

Also I'm starting to lean back toward female for the person in the front middle as I have only just noticed that he/she is wearing a bib apron as the braces over the shoulders are quite clear

So a wheat/cereal farm that does ground work collecting stuff in large sacks and uses buckets and is run by educated types who don't mind spade work !

Weird