Dating by Design 1840-1915: A new way of dating old photographs for family historians

The subject has been tackled in a very detailed yet organised manner which makes it extremely easy for the reader throughout the book. How many family historians have a box of old photographs of their ancestors lurking in a drawer somewhere? And they are not sure who it is or what date it is or what period it was taken. Well, help is at hand with this excellent book enabling them to date photos to a year!

The book is colour-coded by five-year periods based on the year the image was taken. Readers can read through the book or dip into it for whatever year particularly interests them. After a brief history of photography, the author then gives explanations as to the different types of images – daguerreotype, ambrotype, etc, and the various smaller cards like carte de visite and cabinet cards.

The colour illustrations are exceptionally clear and show every detail.  As the author notes…when looking at your old photograph, once you have decided which type it is, start by looking at the sitter’s hair.  He goes on to show a breakdown of all the style changes of women’s hairstyles from 1840 up to 1900. He applies the same thorough investigative method to other fashions of men, women, children with regards to hair, headwear, neckwear, skirts, trousers, jackets, shoes and so on or each period. No detail is missed out.