North York Central Library Blog

I’ve always enjoyed looking at family photos – remembering the surprise birthday party or the amazing summer vacation in Europe.  With today’s technology, recording the dates, people and events are made easy by a click of a button.  But what about those old faded family photos you found while cleaning out your basement?  When were they taken and what can you learn about them?

Photographs are a great way to learn more about your family history.  Like the old saying, a picture is worth a thousand words, photographs tell us the stories of our ancestors' lives. Identifying photos is not fast and easy, but as Jayne Shrimpton, a portrait specialist points out there are many clues to look for.

One of the most obvious clue is to check for the photographer's name or imprint.  A professional directory like the Ontario's Photographer's List can help focus the photo's time frame. Attire and hairstyles are another indicator as it can show the occasion, employment, family status and date.  Did you know that women in the 1940s to 1950s wear their hair either in a bun at the back or dangling side ringlets?  If you want to go into the technical aspects, consider the type of photographs, composition and setting. For example, photographs in the 1850s called tintypes were made on a small thin sheet of iron!

So now that you've become an amateur, perhaps you can become an expert by checking out these related books at the library!