Most of us have a collection of old photographs, they may not be Edwardian or Victorian photographs but perhaps date from the 1930’s, 1940’s and 1950’s. Most of us have such busy lives that we never seem to get the time to sit down and record who is in which photo. Yet an important part of taking care of photographs is to record who is in them. Whether your photographs date from the turn of the century or are more recent none of them will probably mean much to your children and grandchildren. You should try to devise a system for recording who is in the photo, when approximately it was taken, where it was taken, and, if possible, the event the photograph records. The backs of photographs can be a rich source of information. They may bear a faint name in pencil or the name and address of the photographic studio where the photo was taken, which helps when you’re trying to identify people. If the photograph is faded or damaged it can sometimes be restored. Also the nature of the photograph itself can help date when it was taken. What sort of clothes are the people wearing? Can you identify the military uniform and perhaps find out the regiment the young man served in? What sort of hairstyles do the women have? All this information can help narrow down the decade in which the photograph was taken. Most importantly don’t write on your photographs, ballpoint pen, in particular, can leave nasty indentations that show through to the front and cannot be removed. Simply record as much information as you can separately and store it with the photographs so that future generations can enjoy them without simply wondering – Who on earth is that?
Useful resources and free tools for the family history researcher including:
Web links to other sites