Photo Detective is the blog of photo historian Maureen Taylor, author of “Uncovering Your Ancestry Through Family Photographs.”
She helps readers play detective with their photographs for free. The details are usually in the photograph such as the hairstyle, clothing, location, signs, and the tiny details we often miss.
In her post, ““Downton Abbey” and Family Photos,” she discusses the popular television show’s dedication to emulating the period clothing. The show depicts the struggles of an aristocratic family from before World War I through the war. The clothing styles for both men and women shift and changed during that time period, as did class lines and values.
While she (and all of us) talked about how much she is enjoying the visual and historical eye candy of the show, she brings it back around to the details that are so important to dating and researching a photograph for family history.
Photo identification and dating an image relies on information. What a person wears is helpful, but not the whole story. Pictorial context is important–where was it taken, who took the image and what else is visible. Adding up the clues can solve the mystery, date the image and identify the person.
Taylor has published several books on preservation and researching family photographs, as well as historical fashion styles. If you have a mystery photograph, consider submitting it to her or studying her site for tips and tricks to help you identify your own.
I’ve got a few that I’m struggling to identify, including those in my Do You Know These People? category. Lately, I’ve been working on identifying photographs of the USS Arizona from my grandfather’s scrapbook and Coast Guard Insignias and Ranks to help me identify the rank and time period of photographs of my grandfather in military uniform. Identifying photographs goes beyond just faces and places.
Here are some other articles of Taylor’s worth reading.
- How to Share Photographs Online
- Photo Manipulation Before Photo Shop
- Historical Fact or Fiction?
- Multi-Generation Portraits
- Photo Detective with Maureen A. Taylor – Backyard Snapshots
- More on Backyard Snapshots
Most Recent Articles by Lorelle VanFossen
- The Myths and Mysteries and Hunt for Nicholas Knapp
- The Perpetual Calendar
- GenSmarts: Reminder to Not Assume
- Gensmarts Saves Your Family History Research Life
- Digging Through Historical Newspapers Online
