Media: BOOK - paperback, 224 pages
Author: J. Shrimpton
Year: 2014
ISBN: 9781781592809
Other: b&w photos, bibliog, index
Publisher: Pen & Sword

Jayne Shrimpton's complete guide to dating, analysing and understanding family photographs is essential reading and reference for anyone undertaking genealogical and local history research. Using over 150 old photographs as examples, she shows how such images can give a direct insight into the past and into the lives of the individuals who are portrayed in them.

Almost every family and local historian works with photographs, but often the fascinating historical and personal information that can be gained from them is not fully understood. They are one of the most vivid and memorable ways into the past. This concise but comprehensive guide describes the various types of photograph and explains how they can be dated. It analyses what the clothes and style of dress can tell us about the people in the photographs, their circumstances and background.

Sections look at photographs of special occasions - baptisms, weddings, funerals - and at photographs taken in wartime, on holiday or at work. There is advice on how to identify the individuals shown and how to find more family photographs through personal connections, archives and the internet - and how to preserve them for future generations.

Contents:
Acknowledgements
Picture Credits
Introduction

Part 1. Dating Family Photographs
1. Recognising Different Types of Photograph
2. Investigating Photographers and Studios
3. Dating Professional Photographic Card Mounts
4. Dating the Visual Image: Studio Portraits and Outdoor Scenes
5. Dating the Visual Image: Fashion Clues

Part 2. Studying Family Photographs
6. Professional Portraits: Identifying the Occasion
7. Photographic Copies
8. Inherited Photograph Albums
9. Judging Status, Age and Likeness

Part 3. Picturing the Lives
10. Family Wedding Photographs
11. Home, Work and Leisure
12. Wartime Photographs
13. Local Connections
14. Foreign Locations

Part 4. Looking After Family Photographs
15. Preserving Old Photographs

Sources
Index