It is important to calculate the date of a photo for which you have been given an identity. Our informants, though well intentioned, are often wrong.  If you have ever found that a particularly cherished family story has skipped a generation, (the story about grandfather Tom turns out to have been about HIS father), sometimes you will find that photos are older than you think, and can represent an earlier generation.

There are four main aspects to look at when dating an old photograph, but it is quite usual for some of those aspects to be missing.   Those aspects are:

1 The type, or physical characteristic of the photo, such as the shape or thickness, and finish of the mount board.  (If you have a modern copy, that aspect will often not be evident.)

2 The photographer’s studio, i.e. in what period was the photographer known to operating at the address printed on the mount board. (Once again, that information might have gone missing when a copy was taken, or the original may not have had a photographer’s name on it.)

Directory of London Photographers, 1841 - 1908 by Michael Pritchard

3 The studio background - certain types of background were characteristic of different periods. Sometimes, however, the background is non-descript, or not evident in a head-and-shoulders portrait.

4 The costume and hairstyle of the sitter.  Most photos will have indelible clues as to the time frame of a photo in the hairstyle, the shape of the jacket, bodice, skirts, sleeves, and so on.  However, this is not always straightforward - sometimes the details of the clothing are not very apparent, or the subject was an old person wearing clothes of a considerable vintage.  Sometimes persons associated with a religious sect might adopt very plain clothing which does not vary in detail over several decades.