unknown great grandad photo

[ZKT]

this is  a photo of my Great Grandad. We dont know his name but know he emigrated to Australia about 1904 to work in the building trade.

my grandad was illegitimate His name was Ernest Christopher Gibson Downes.
His mother was Florence Downes from Crewe Cheshire England. My grandads birth was kept secret from the rest of his  Downes family in the uk and he was adopted, although he still had contact with his mother.
We believe the photo is of my grandads father. Without a name it is impossible to find family in Australia,( who probably dont know anything about my Grandad )

Ive tried all the permutations of Christopher/Ernest and Gibson on passenger list to Oz but no luck.

its a long shot but does anyone recognise him and put a name to the face?

any suggestions on tracing an unknown male from the UK from just  a photo?

[Spidermonkey]

Whilst I never want to rule out the miraculous, I do think you may be struggling to locate this man just based on a photograph.  Have you investigated the route of DNA testing to see if that yields anything?

[majm]

Hi,

What do you know about the photo .....
Where was it taken? Coubtry, State, region?
When?  Decade and also function ... wedding, celebration,
What is on the back?

Have you consideted asking the RCatters on the photo board to use their collective ecperiences to minutely examine it .... old unpolished boots v clean tidy fresh trimmed hair.... the lace up pattern in those boots reminds me of my older brother's pedantic insistance of that cross over...

JM

[sparrett]

What on earth is the contraption hanging on the post behind him?
Is he living under canvas?
Sweet little cat!

[Gadget]

Whilst I never want to rule out the miraculous, I do think you may be struggling to locate this man just based on a photograph.  Have you investigated the route of DNA testing to see if that yields anything?

I agree 

I think DNA testing is probably the most promising line. I managed to discover who  my great grandfather was using DNA and a considerable amount of tree building with a group of shared matches, who didn't link to any of my known lines.

Gadget

[majm]

Well my ancient living rellies suggest the photo could be 1950s,  a single unattached chap, perhaps a Saturday evening, and all dressed up off for the local dance.   That object may be a handheld tool used by experienced chaps with oldfashioned animal husbandry skills ... tool may have been involved in turning rams into wethers - as per a suggestion from an elderly male relative of mine looking at photo on his 15 inch laptop.  On the other hand, I said .... hair brush.... there's not a hair out of place, its freshly shampooed, he as been shaved with cut throat, his finger nails are clean, trim, buffed..   

JM

[Neale1961]

He seems to be sitting in front of a canvas tent. The tent has been erected up off the ground on boards, probably to get away from the wet. Some bricks form a path also to keep feet dry when the ground is wet. There is a door mat under his feet, so it must be more than just temporary living quarters.
Hanging from the tent is a leather strap used for sharpening tools/ knives, etc. He could have been working as a shearer, barber or even a butcher.
His boots and hat show a lot of wear, but he is dressed up in suit and tie, with flower on lapel, for some special event.
Sharpening strap picture

[Erato]

I agree, it's a leather strop and, hanging behind it on the same nail, is a horseshoe.

[Neale1961]

is a horseshoe.

Yes, I was trying to work out if it was a horse shoe, or too big to be one.