Starting out with a 140 year old photograph with no names written on the back to help you, it's easy to feel that identifying the subjects is a lost cause.
However this is not always the case, there are many ways that you can you find clues and start to narrow down the possibilities. Here a few that I use.
Photographic Process
Since the invention of photography, photographers have used many different techniques and these are well documented. Photographic process history may not be in your field of interest but it will help you. There are many reputable websites and books which can help you to confirm what type of photograph you have. This can enable you to narrow down to a date range, which you can then compare to your known family tree to see who this might possibly be.
Photographers Studios
This is my favourite one and has yielded the most results for me. A lot of very old photographs will have the marks of the photographer on them, and these photographer names and studios can be researched. This can narrow down your search remarkably. Some of my photographs have been dated to a two or four year period based on this alone. The photographers detail can appear as a crude stamp on the back, often these are faded but can be revived using photo editing tools. The entire back of the card can also be printed, showing many details. Often a particular design or studio name is specific to the time and place of that shop, then if the photographer moves they may change the business name or the design of the card. This can also help you narrow down your search using business directories, many of which are published online by researchers or state and national archives.
Later larger portraits have embossed mattes, where the name of the studio appears on the front of the card either as an imprinted stamp, or a coloured stamp, often white or gold. These are often rubbed off over the years but by holding the photograph in raking light, meaning to tilt it against the light, you will still see the impression of the words. Again these can sometimes be revived using software.
Clothing Style, Studio Furniture and Facial Features
This can be the trickiest method when you first get started and you should be careful with this method. A photographic conservator or historian can help you if you really need a breakthrough.
Looking at other historic photographs online or in books, of people from the same country as your relatives, you can start to see patterns in clothing, hair styles, mens facial hair styles, children clothes shoes or toys. There are books published on this subject. This can help you to narrow down to a decade if nothing else. If you are researching relatives that migrated and having a tough life sometimes you need to keep the date a bit broader, to account for not having the latest fashions available in the region of the world, or not being able to afford them. Sometimes you will see the same dress has been modified in later photos rather than buying a new one.
Also this can help you to link two unknown subjects together. They may be wearing the same belt, necklace or hat. Or they may be sitting on the same chair in the same studio, with the same painted backdrop. This can also link a mother and daughter if the items have been handed down.
Lastly there is the option to compare facial features. This is very difficult and not to be used as definitive confirmation. But if you are finding yourself gazing at faces and trying to see the similarities then my tips are:
Occupation
Often a subject, or group of subjects, will be photographed with the tools of their trade. At first it may seem a bit weird why people are holding certain things or there is something in the picture that doesn't fit. But it could be their occupation. So check, what is that tool? is it specific to a certain trade. Are they a blacksmith, a wagon wheel maker, a miner? This can help you to figure our what they were doing and where they were, which can then be cross reference with existing census or other data where your relative may have written their occupation.
Mourning Photographs
Sometimes the photograph has been taken to commemorate the passing of a loved one. They may be holding an object that has particular meaning in relation to the person who has died. Photographs of people who have passed away is a whole different subject, often these portraits were taken of young children and babies who have passed.
However this is not always the case, there are many ways that you can you find clues and start to narrow down the possibilities. Here a few that I use.
Photographic Process
Since the invention of photography, photographers have used many different techniques and these are well documented. Photographic process history may not be in your field of interest but it will help you. There are many reputable websites and books which can help you to confirm what type of photograph you have. This can enable you to narrow down to a date range, which you can then compare to your known family tree to see who this might possibly be.
Photographers Studios
This is my favourite one and has yielded the most results for me. A lot of very old photographs will have the marks of the photographer on them, and these photographer names and studios can be researched. This can narrow down your search remarkably. Some of my photographs have been dated to a two or four year period based on this alone. The photographers detail can appear as a crude stamp on the back, often these are faded but can be revived using photo editing tools. The entire back of the card can also be printed, showing many details. Often a particular design or studio name is specific to the time and place of that shop, then if the photographer moves they may change the business name or the design of the card. This can also help you narrow down your search using business directories, many of which are published online by researchers or state and national archives.
Later larger portraits have embossed mattes, where the name of the studio appears on the front of the card either as an imprinted stamp, or a coloured stamp, often white or gold. These are often rubbed off over the years but by holding the photograph in raking light, meaning to tilt it against the light, you will still see the impression of the words. Again these can sometimes be revived using software.
Clothing Style, Studio Furniture and Facial Features
This can be the trickiest method when you first get started and you should be careful with this method. A photographic conservator or historian can help you if you really need a breakthrough.
Looking at other historic photographs online or in books, of people from the same country as your relatives, you can start to see patterns in clothing, hair styles, mens facial hair styles, children clothes shoes or toys. There are books published on this subject. This can help you to narrow down to a decade if nothing else. If you are researching relatives that migrated and having a tough life sometimes you need to keep the date a bit broader, to account for not having the latest fashions available in the region of the world, or not being able to afford them. Sometimes you will see the same dress has been modified in later photos rather than buying a new one.
Also this can help you to link two unknown subjects together. They may be wearing the same belt, necklace or hat. Or they may be sitting on the same chair in the same studio, with the same painted backdrop. This can also link a mother and daughter if the items have been handed down.
Lastly there is the option to compare facial features. This is very difficult and not to be used as definitive confirmation. But if you are finding yourself gazing at faces and trying to see the similarities then my tips are:
- look at the ears, especially in relation to their position in line with the nose. Draw an imaginary line from the bottom of the ear lobe to the bottom of the nose and upper lip. Take note of the nostrils, are they curved, can you see up them or are they covered. This can often be the same throughout a person's life. If someones ears are dramatically different in another photo, then it is unlikely that this is the same person.
- look at the lips, if a person has thin lips when young they will have them when old. The sudden development of plump lips was not really a thing 100 years ago!
- look at the slope of the eyes relative to the eyebrows. Again a person with slightly hooded eyelids or eyes that slope downwards at the outer edge, will retain these features.
- look at the cheekbones. Even if a person is a different weight in various pictures, if they have sharp distinctive cheekbones, these will be the same and can help you narrow down the possibilities.
- with men particularly look at the hairline. A receding hairline or distinctive hairline, such as sweeping sharply up over the right eye but not the left, will be visible throughout a mans life. Unless he has become bald in old age of course. Look out for flipped photos!
- look at hands, the size of hands, and the way they are sitting on the persons knee or hanging by their side. Sometimes this is identical in photos of that subject throughout time.
Occupation
Often a subject, or group of subjects, will be photographed with the tools of their trade. At first it may seem a bit weird why people are holding certain things or there is something in the picture that doesn't fit. But it could be their occupation. So check, what is that tool? is it specific to a certain trade. Are they a blacksmith, a wagon wheel maker, a miner? This can help you to figure our what they were doing and where they were, which can then be cross reference with existing census or other data where your relative may have written their occupation.
Mourning Photographs
Sometimes the photograph has been taken to commemorate the passing of a loved one. They may be holding an object that has particular meaning in relation to the person who has died. Photographs of people who have passed away is a whole different subject, often these portraits were taken of young children and babies who have passed.