Can You Guess The Date On This One.

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Lorine McGinnis Schulze on July 14, 2009 at 6:11am

My field of semi-knowledge is pre 1900 but I'm gonna take a stab at it. I have to preface my "guess" with saying I wish I could see their hemlines and shoes! Those would give more clues to help narrow the year.

But my best "guess" based on their hair, slim skirt style and blousy tops, is circa 1914. I was leaning more towards 1916 at first but I'm going out on a limb and saying 1914. It's a fun quiz even if I end up with egg on my face!

Permalink Reply by William Bruce Hillman on July 14, 2009 at 9:41am

Close very close but no prize.

Permalink Reply by Pam H on July 15, 2009 at 7:41pm

1899

Permalink Reply by Bob Brock on July 17, 2009 at 7:31am

I'll have a guess at 1917. There's no sign of the "Edwardian" frippery - big hats, feather boas etc - and the styles look simpler and closer to those of the 1920s. The woman on the right is clearly showing off an engagement or wedding ring and I'd take a wild guess that the photo might have been sent to a soldier serving in Europe as a keepsake by his fiancee or sister.

Permalink Reply by Lorine McGinnis Schulze on July 17, 2009 at 10:39am

I'm gonna revise my guestimate to 1915. I don't see it being any later as the dress skirts are still fairly flat, It's a slim silhouette and not full yet. The problem is that when we go by fashion, we don't know how old the clothes related to the date the photo was taken! It would be rare for a women to have a new look the minute it came out in the stores

So if a woman is wearing,say, a dress that she bought in 1914, she might still be wearing it a year or even 2 years later, especially if styles have not changed that much.

My rule of thumb is, if I can date a photo within 5 years, I'm happy!


Great puzzler, it's sure got us thinking!

Permalink Reply by William Bruce Hillman on July 19, 2009 at 9:00am

You are within 5 years. Of course this is London, Ontario. To say that this city is not the fashion center of the universe is to put it mildly. I will wait a week or so and see if there is any other wild guesses. One thing that I have noticed is that there are variations in styles from region to region. Maybe the New York papers never made it to London? Certainly as far as I can see the flapper styles of the 1920's hardly made a dent in conservative London.

Permalink Reply by William Bruce Hillman on August 2, 2009 at 7:05am

Both sides of my family regularly dated their photo's. What they do not do is put any names on the back. I guess the assumption is that everyone knows who they are! Luckily I am old enough to remember both ladies in the photo. The one one the left is my grandmother Hilda (Thomas) Steele and beside her is her sister Maude (Thomas) Connom. The date on the photo is Dec. 1918. The photo would be taken just before Hilda's wedding.

Permalink Reply by Lorine McGinnis Schulze on August 4, 2009 at 6:56am

Thanks for a fun time William, and a good chance for all of us to play detective and learn how to study an old photo. And congrats to Bob Brock for coming closest!

I think the variety of our responses shows how challenging it can be to date old photos, but again if you can come within 5 years of the actual date, consider it a job well done!