Dating Old Photographs 1840-1929 on CD-ROM; pdf format; auto-run; originally published in 2000; republished as a CD-ROM 2011 by Family Roots Publishing Co. L.L.C.; 94pp.; ISBN: 978-1-933194-72-1; item #: FR0115; Price includes postage within the United States.

You've almost certainly faced the problem: you have an album or box of old photographs, but almost all of them lack any identification. Family Chronicle's Dating Old Photographs 1840-1929 can't help you identify the subject, but it probably can help you with dating when the picture was taken — often within a couple of years.

A number of books have already been published that describe how to date old photographs. They rely almost entirely on descriptions. This book on CD-ROM is made up of reproductions of old photographs of known date. There are over 700 pictures covering the period from the 1840s to the 1920s. By comparing your unknown pictures to those in this book, you will be able to compare clothing and hair fashion, the poses adopted by the subject, and the background settings. The book provides convincing evidence that our ancestors were at least as fashion conscious as we are today and that those fashions changed just as frequently.

The volume also includes an introduction by Andrew J. Morris, explaining the technicalities and fashion styles of old photos. He details information on the various types of photographs, starting with the daguerreotypes of 1839-1860, the ambrotypes of 1854-1860s, the tintypes of 1856-1900, the carte-de-visites of 1859-1890s, and the cabinet cards of 1866-1910.

Dating Old Photographs was compiled from a number of sources, but the majority of the photographs were submitted by readers of Family Chronicle Magazine. The book then goes on to graphically show the photographs of the following eras:

• The 1840s – pages 8 & 9
• The 1850s – pages 10-13
• 1860-1864 – pages 14-17
• 1865-1869 – pages 18-20
• 1870-1874 – pages 21-24
• 1875-1879 – pages 25-26
• 1880-1884 – pages 27-30
• 1885-1889 – pages 31-36
• 1890-1894 – pages 37-43
• 1895-1899 – pages 44-51
• 1900-1904 – pages 52-60
• 1905-1909 – pages 61-69
• 1910-1914 – pages 70-77
• 1915-1919 – pages 78-84
• 1920-1924 – pages 85-89
• 1925-1929 – pages 90-93

Most pages have 9 photographs on them, with some larger photos on pages with 5 to 8 pictures. To make the book even more valuable, the photos are identified, and include the name of the party owning the original.

System requirements:

PC or Mac with Windows installed for auto start. Since the pages are pdf files they are readable under either Windows or Mac OS. Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader version 5 or later.

More Books by Maureen A. Taylor:

• Finding the Civil War In Your Family Album
• Fashionable Folks - Hairstyles 1840-1900
• Fashionable Folks - Bonnets And Hats, 1840-1900
• Preserving Your Family Photographs
• Capturing Memories
• The Last Muster
• More Dating Old Photographs 1840-1929, 3rd Ed.
• A Guide To The Library Of The NEHGS