unknown great grandad photo

[sparrett]

Were those strops still used n the 1950's?
The Gillette razor was well and truly here by then.

Could be a sprig of wattle or baronia  in the buttonhole.  Baronia was a popular fragrant native in the 1950's

The tie is hand tied, not the clip on kind.

Sue

[judb]

No real help at all from me, but I have a photo of my grandfather in a similar pose, in front of a tent. My grandfather was working on a road gang in the depression at the time - 1930s to early 1940s.

The chap in your photo looks relatively young and, as Neale1961 says, appears to be dressed for a special occasion. 

What is the birthdate for your grandfather which will at least give a general indication of  possible age for your great-grandfather.  Was your grandfather born in the UK? Did he emigrate - or do you just think it was his father who emigrated? And obviously you believe the gt-grandfather emigrated after 1904.

Judith

[judb]

Is this your grandfather's birth? (from FreeBMD)
Births, Mar qr, 1904
Ernest Alfred DOWNES, registered Nantwich, Vol 8a, p339 (Crewe is in the Nantwich registration district)

Judith

[cupoflife]

previous posts
https://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=656083.msg5021196#msg5021196
https://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=534109.msg3884108#msg3884108
https://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=656085.0

[ZKT]

thanks all for your replies.
just  a few notes of clarification.
my grandad, is Ernest Christopher Gibson Downes .b Feb 1904 Crewe Cheshire England
The photo is believed to be his father. Unknown.

I have no info on the  man in the photo except he emigrated to Oz around 1904 and he went to work in the  building trade. I guess the photo would have been taken soon after he arrived in Australia. It was sent to my grandfathers mother. I doubt it was taken in the 40s or 50s as my grandads dad would be middle aged/old man by then and the man in the photo is young.

(I have other photos of building sites presumably where he was working but no completed buildings or other feature that could identify where the picture are taken. The building site photo is dated April 1904, so the man in the photo arrived in Australia between May 1903 When my granddad was conceived in the UK and April 1904 when the building site photo was taken in Australia)

I know this is a very long shot  All suggestions are much appreciated.
 
The only other clue is that on his birth certificate my granddad is named as Ernest Alfred Christopher Gibson-Downes. I guess is father is very possibly Mr Gibson. (his mother is Downes)

[majm]

thanks all for your replies.
just  a few notes of clarification.
my grandad, is Ernest Christopher Gibson Downes .b Feb 1904 Crewe Cheshire England
The photo is believed to be his father. Unknown.

I have no info on the  man in the photo except he emigrated to Oz around 1904 and he went to work in the  building trade. I guess the photo would have been taken soon after he arrived in Australia. It was sent to my grandfathers mother. I doubt it was taken in the 40s or 50s as my grandads dad would be middle aged/old man by then and the man in the photo is young.

(I have other photos of building sites presumably where he was working but no completed buildings or other feature that could identify where the picture are taken. The building site photo is dated April 1904, so the man in the photo arrived in Australia between May 1903 When my granddad was conceived in the UK and April 1904 when the building site photo was taken in Australia)

I know this is a very long shot  All suggestions are much appreciated.
 
The only other clue is that on his birth certificate my granddad is named as Ernest Alfred Christopher Gibson-Downes. I guess is father is very possibly Mr Gibson. (his mother is Downes)

https://trove.nla.gov.au/  and from there do NOT select newspapers and gazettes.  Instead, select

advanced search

and from that option, choose Images, Maps, Artefacts.

at that option, use two keywords,  "1904 tent"  scroll through.... many/most are glass negatives .... one in particular caught my attention.   Splitters Tent, "Stumpton' / Mark James Daniel.  It is dated as August 1904    Also notice that even banks and solicitors operated their businesses out of tents in that decade .... see the photo at https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/166980834?keyword=1904%20tent&l-decade=190

This link is to a photograph dated circa 1935, man shaving outside a tent in a bush camp.  https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-142105902/view

1904 construction sites .... anywhere across all six states in the Federation ... that's a huge area, but each of the states have public libraries with photographic material, and websites. 

Cut throats were still used in the 1960s by many of my male family members but their strops were usually around three feet long.

JM

 JM

[majm]

previous posts
https://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=656083.msg5021196#msg5021196
https://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=534109.msg3884108#msg3884108
https://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=656085.0

From one of those threads back in 2013

My Grandfather was born 7th Feb 1904 at Crewe Cheshire. His mother was Florence Maud Downes. she was a domestic servant. There is no father named on this birth cert. He also went by the name Ernest Alfred Christopher Gibson Downes. (Alfred was his mothers father) The other names may or may not relate to his father. His marriage cert gives his father as Thomas Gibson Downes, Building Contractor.
This or a variation of it may be his father name, but names were often given for marriages to keep a air of respectability.
The family believe that his father emigrated to Austrialia. He kept in touch with Florence and sent photos back. The attached photo of a young man I think is of his father. I also have a photo of a contruction site,dated 30.4.1904. which I believe is where he was working and why he went to Austrialia.
He would have gone to Austrialia between June 1903 and April 1904.
His secret of an illegitimate son may have gone to his grave with him but does any one recognise the man in the photo, his story or have any immigration or employment records that would help identify my Great grandfather?

Please post the photo of the construction site dated 30.4.1904
And also the 1920s photos mentioned in a further thread

Thank you all for your help it is much appreciated. I have found some more photos of my Great grandad sent from Australia. I still dont know his name but in I it is more likely to be Christopher or Thomas Gibson. 
I have some old Kodak Austral postcards from the 1920s of him. On the edge of each is written 'stevens photo 18 Regents St Fitzroy'. I dont know if stevens produced the postcards or is this grandads name?
I found a Regents st in Fitzroy Melbourne Victoria Australia.
Does anyone know if there was a photographers shop at 18 Regent st at this time?
I know its a long shot but can any one look up Thomas/ christopher Gibson born 1985 +/- 10years would have arrived Australia between june 1903 and april 1904 possibly arriving Melbourne. The was a builder when he left the UK,  although the postcard show him in a field  of crops so the may have become a farmer.

JM

[Neale1961]

This is the picture of building site that was posted on another thread. You can see that it is a sizeable building, when you see how small the workmen are in comparison.

[majm]

https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/passengers/

_{Outgoing passenger lists (1890-1960)
Search and download (charges apply) lists of passengers boarding at UK and Irish ports and travelling to places such as America, Canada, India, New Zealand and Australia between 1890 and 1960 (BT 27) on the findmypast.co.uk website. These lists do not include passengers who joined ships en route.}

JM