Date an Old Photograph - Roger Vaughan Picture Library

Date a Carte de Visite Photograph

A date will sometimes help fit a photo into a family tree

(New window opens for each link - close to return here)

1.What decade is this photograph from, see the changes of the designs on the back through time and a brief description of fashion changes
Which Back? 1860 to 1920

2.Photographs of Victorian, Edwardian and 20th century ladies sorted by year
1860 to 1930

3.Photographs of people arranged by year 1860 to 1915
People by Year

4.Date the CDV printer - See the tiny name on the back, look for the Marion date code.
Carte de visite printer

5. A large list of photographs and photographers each with an estimated date
A-Z list of dated photographs

6. A large 1000 plus list of photographers and photographs a few have estimated dates.
1000 photographs to

7.Frequently Asked Questions (I have a photo like yours...)
FAQ

8. Just what sort of photograph is it? - here is some useful basic information on sizes, types and descriptions and when used, that may help as a first step if you are not sure.
Types of Family Photographs

9. The negative book from Hills & Saunders, Harrow Branch, is now online, if you have a numbered photo from this studio then you may find out who the person was or look through the A - Z to spot names.

Hills & Saunders, Harrow.

See also a page about this archive at Harrow School
Harrow Archive

10. A page with keyword indexed search boxes for each of my many sites, making it easy to find a photographer or place or date. Also links to my sites.
Multiple Keyword Search Boxes

11. Because photographers were listed in local Trade Directories, a great amount of work has gone into listing them, by year, to see when the company was in business. This can help to limit the date that the photograph was produced to the years they were operating or sometimes at a particular address.
Here are a few lists to work through:

Search by Photographer's Name and County by Rosemary & Stan Rodliffe
[Search a database]

Introduction, Biographies & much else by Rosemary & Stan Rodliffe
Introduction, Biographies

City of Bristol, UK. Photographers (by R.F.Vaughan)
City of Bristol

City of London, UK. Photographers (by Michael Pritchard) (477KB - whole book!)
City of London

A-Z, UK. Photographers (by Christine Hibbert)
UK. Photographers

Slaters' Directory 1868 Part of England and Wales (by R.F.Vaughan)
1868 Directory

High Street Photographers in Aberystwyth 1857 - c1900
Aberystwyth

12. Postcards (early 20th C.): Many have the date franked over the stamp, but some were not posted, and some effort has gone into identifying the area (box) where the stamp was stuck on, known as the Stamp Box (mostly USA but some Europe).
Postcard Stamp Boxes

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Roger Vaughan 2005