Four Times the Mystery
There is so much to love in this photo collage--the smiling face, the cute baby, and the timeless shot of a mother and child. The problem is that Michael Thompson has no idea who she is. Each image is tiny, only about an inch in size. They were all glued...
Read MoreClues in Old Photo Postcards, Part 2
Jennifer Bryan sent me a photo-postcard mystery and I featured part one in last week's post.This week I'll share what I learned about the recipient of the postcard, Miss Flossie Howell of Baker City, Ore. Flossie's friend Desca wrote: Hello. Rec'd letter other day ans soon. What are you...
Read More“Downton Abbey” and Family Photos
I can't resist the pull of a period piece be it a television series or a movie, so it's no surprise that last night I sat down to watch the first episode of Season 3 of PBS' "Downton Abbey." There were a lot of moments relevant to both family...
Read MoreTwelve Months of the Photo Detective
It's time to look back at the year. Every week I write a Photo Detective blog post—that's 52 columns in 12 months. It's a lot of free photographic advice and tips. Here are my month-by-month 2012 favorites.JanuaryLast New Year's I offered advice on sharing images online, tackled a photo...
Read MoreFamily Resemblances in Old Photos: Who Is This Man?
Last week I discussed how to care for a badly damaged photograph, and showed an image Lois O'Malley photographed back in 2005. Lois wrote: "As soon as I saw the man in the photo he minded me of my grandfather, William Alexander Simmons (1873-1934)." He's seen here: Her Dad's...
Read MoreGenealogy Fashions: Is Your Ancestor’s Hat Back in Style?
Fashion is looking back not merely to the 1970s, but all the way to the 1920s and even 1880s, at least as far as hats are concerned. Last Sunday's New York Times fashion supplement featured advertisements showing old-fashioned-looking hats by designers Louis Vuitton and Donna Karan. Even the Bloomingdale's ad...
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What I Saw at the National Genealogical Society Conference
Thank you to everyone who stopped by my booth at the National Genealogical Society Conference last week! I looked at a lot of photos and many people promised to send in submissions for this column. Larae Schraeder showed me two photos. Here's one of them (I'm still working on the...
Read MoreMother and Daughters
Family photographs are endlessly fascinating. There is the life story of the individuals in a picture and then there is the story of the person who took the image. I've looked a thousands of photographs over the years so I can spot a talented studio photographer just by looking at...
Read MoreA Possible Identity for the Lady
Last week I wrote about Jay Kruizenga's photo of a woman with long hair. He read the column and quickly wrote back to say thank you. It appears that the lovely woman with the long locks has a name!He believe that this picture was taken 1883-85 because the cardstock...
Read MoreMysterious Woman with Wavy Hair
Jay Kruizenga of DutchBlood.com sent in this photo of his family's mystery woman. Her long, flowing hair definitely makes an impression. She has really long full hair that must have created an enormous braid when pinned up. The photo was given to Jay by the daughter of his grandfather's...
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