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How to Date Your Old Photos

Online resources can help you piece together clues from different eras

by: Tracee Hamilton, from: AARP, November 18, 2011

Details such as clothing, hats, shoes, and hairstyles can help you establish a date for old photos- three women walk on a canal in 1931

By examining the style of fashion worn by the subjects in an old photograph, it is possible to deduce the approximate date it was taken. — Harold Tomlin/Getty Images

Since I'm no fashionista, I turned to websites such as Family Chronicle, which also has published two books on dating photos, for help in matching styles with a particular era. Consulting experts such as Maureen Taylor, whose website includes a blog and provides teleseminars, are also a good resource.

In my photo, both men are wearing loose-fitting jackets with wide lapels. The elder man is wearing a collarless shirt — too bad, because it's easier to date men's collars and neckties. The younger man is not wearing a necktie, but his shirt has a pointed, flat collar. The jackets seem to indicate a photo taken in the 1870s, but I'm still not certain.

This is the time to turn to common sense. I knew from my earlier research that all three of my great-grandfather's brothers eventually wound up farming in Kansas, after stops in Washington, D.C., and St. Louis. The tintype was taken in front of a painted background — hardly unusual for tintypes, but more likely found in St. Louis than a small town in Kansas that wasn't organized until 1871. In the early 1870s, Michael would have been in his twenties and Peter in his teens and both were living in St. Louis. Timothy would have been too young to be either brother.

Therefore the photo is more than likely Michael and Peter, perhaps taken before Peter left for Kansas to live with relatives, leaving Michael behind. Sometimes a good guess is as close as you'll get to the answers.

19th Century Photographs

There were several photo techniques used in the mid- and late-1800s, some of the most common include:

Daguerreotypes
This first successful photo process is attributed to Louis Daguerre. The image is on a silver clad copper sheet which was then sealed inside a wooden case or a frame under glass to protect it.

Time period: 1840s and 1850s.
Identifying characteristics: A daguerreotype produces a mirror image and can appear and disappear, depending upon the angle at which you view it. Also, if there is any object with writing in the photo it will appear reversed. Photo was often displayed in an ornate, hinged box. Most common size is 2½ x 3¼ inches.

Tintypes
This inexpensive photo process was similar to the Ambrotype, but instead of using a glass plate, the tintype image was processed on a thin sheet of blackened iron – not tin. The name might come from the fact that tin shears were used to cut the iron plate.

Time period: Introduced in 1856 and popular until about 1867. But tintype photo studios were still around into the early 1900s as a novelty.
Identifying characteristics: Tintypes will attract a small magnet, but this method of identification isn't foolproof as some ambrotypes have a metal backing behind the glass plate. The tintype is usually cut out quite roughly and is thinner than a ambrotype. Early tintypes were put under glass, but later were placed in cardboard sleeves. Most common size is 2½ x 3½ inches.

Cabinet Cards
The larger version of the carte-de-visite, these images were mounted on heavy card stock to keep the photos from curling. These photographs were frequently displayed in cabinets or bookcases, hence the name.

Time period: Post-Civil War period, beginning in 1866 and enjoyed a peak of popularity from 1870 to 1895. Cabinet cards are rarely found after 1906.
Identifying characteristics: The thickness of the card stock, the color of its borders and whether it has rounded corners (1870s to 1900) or square corners (after 1900) can often help determine the date of a photograph. Many prints also included the name and location of the photography studio on the bottom of the card. Most common size is 4¼ x 6½ inches.