Rescued Photos &
Family Memorabilia

Found Photos
Dating and Identifying Old Photos
Archives, Online Galleries and Libraries
Preserving Old (and Modern) Photographs
Scanners & Digital Imaging
Neat Stuff
Utilities
ID Your Photos NOW!

= Excellent!

Got a page of your own "found family treasures"? Send me the link and I'll post it here. Got something but no webpage? Go to the RootsWeb Posting link to list it for maximum exposure.

Ifoundyourcamera.net: found cameras, found film, found photo CDs, etc., reproduced on this website and awaiting more owners to reclaim them!
Baltimore City Nineteenth Century Photos (Maryland USA): A wonderful site full of found photos of people with names! All photos relate to Baltimore, and many list the photography studio where the portraits were taken, the place the photos were found, etc.
Unknown Photos, most likely of people living in Bell/Knox/Clay/Harlan County, Kentucky
Dead Fred : the Original Genealogy Photo Archive: Search or add a photo
Unidentified and Orphaned Photographs with Ties to Hennepin County (Minnesota USA): Good idea with the localized twist!
Mac Ross Photo Collection: Photos of a tobacco salesman travelling throughout Manitoba, right up to Churchill during the Depression.
Carte de Visite Victorian Photographs: Several albums of photos with photographers' names and/or locations
Unknown Female Portrait - Wendt?
Photographs From the Past: a wonderfully organized site of photos, many labelled, all with clues as to their origins, with updates as identification is received. Don't overlook the great list of links to other "found photo" websites!
Western Pennsylvania Old Photos: A dense but well setup homepage leads to all kinds of photos, identified and not, organized geographically and by name if known. Large images are reasonably quick to appear.
The MARKER Family, 1915
Unknown pictures
Unidentified Photographs: photos taken in California, Michigan, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming, etc.
Photographs, Mostly of Eastern Ontario: Scroll down to the title below the text boxes
RootsWeb's GenConnect Board, a "virtual clearing house" of photos, albums, negatives, bibles, documents, letters, and other family memorabilia: items retrieved by individuals from trash, yard sales and fleamarkets. Usually offered for cost of acquisition and shipping, but you make your own arrangements in each case with the person who made the discovery.
Assorted photos with reference to eastern Ontario & western Quebec: includes surnames and photographer / studio name where possible, plus scans of backs of photos when notations have been made to identify the subject
Images of the American Civil War: Searchable by subject or location
Square America : a gallery of vintage snapshots & vernacular photography
Images of the American West
Photos of an Unknown Family that Probably Owned a Liquor Store
Photos From Found Undeveloped Film
Women & Dogs Photos: a specialized a hobby collection of found photos
Time Tales
Victorian and Edwardian Photographs: Searchable and odd site, some photos identified; some links to genealogical pages not necessarily connected with the photos
Look at Me, a Collection of Found Photos
Found Photos: a strange,but artsy website
Woman with light curly hair ca 1880, probably taken in Montreal QC: found in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, Nov 99
Thompson Family, United Church ministry in Trinidad: found in North Bay, Ontario, Canada, about 1981
Ashbury College, a boys' private school in Rockliffe Park, in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.: Includes the names of the 100 or so students written on the back of the photo.
A Collection of Photos Found in Buenos Aires in English & Spanish

Dating and Identifying Old Photos

Here are some helpful sources and links to help you identify the time period of old photographs. The text of the books are NOT available online, but may be found in libraries or purchased.

Alexandre TURPIN & grandson in horse-drawn buggy

Please, do not ask me where!
That's what search engines, libraries,
phone directories and book stores are for.

Contact your local library, university or college, local photography club, or ask at a camera / photography store or studio for some suggestions. Bring some copies of the photos in question with you.

Photo Detective

Dating Ancestor Photos Through Clothing and Hairstyles : Civil War Era Fashions for Women

follow the links at the end of the page for more photograph dating techniques

Identifying People in Old Family Photographs

Cyndi's List of Photographs & Memories

Photographs as a Tool

Straightforward article describing the various types of photographs from the beginning of photography and how to use photos as an aid to genealogy.

City Gallery

Dating Old Photographs, by Family Chronicle

see photos attributed to the decades of the 1800s, to compare with yours

More Tips for Dating Old Photographs

Concise descriptions and date frames for different types of photographs and photographic processes.

19th Century Photography for Genealogists

Victorian Death Rituals, including Funeral photographs

19th Century Photography

I was disappointed in this little book, because it didn't seem to provide any more insight into old photos than I already possessed. It was also horribly expensive, especially converting from US$. Borrow it from your library.

Taimi 'Helen' (KUJANPAA) GARLAND

Clothing, Jewellery, Accessories & Uniforms

The Costume Gallery
History of Photography: an overview of collecting old photos, determining the type and age of a photo, clothing styles, etc.
Eras of Elegance - a Brief History of Fashion: From the ancient Greeks & Romans (not that you'll find photos from back then) to Edwardian fashion
The Fifties Web - Your Retro 50s, 60s and 70s Source: more than you ever wanted to know about these decades, with photos of clothing, makeup and hairstyles, etc.
Fashion Forward : The History of 20th Century Women's Clothing
Fashion-Era: an absolutely fabulous source for clothing fashions from all eras
American Indian Clothing and Regalia
Notes and Illustrations on Regency Clothing Styles
Glenna Jo & Bill Christen's Presentations & Works-in-Progress: Loads of detailed information to help identify 19th Century clothing styles, etc.
Hairstyles
Historical Boys' Clothing

Furniture, Appliances, Interiors

Connected Lines Furniture Style Guide
Furniture Styles and Periods
Guide to Furniture Styles and Terms: intended as an aid to buying antique or retro furniture, but still of use in aging photos

Transportation

Trains
Cars
Ships

Photographers & Photography Studios

Camera Workers : The British Columbia, Alaska & Yukon Photographic Directory, 1858-1950: details of studios, photographers, their subjects/location and production -- an amazing amount of information presented in an easily accessible and intelligent manner! Bravo, webmaster!; Bibliography for the above site
Photographers of Great Britain & Ireland 1840-1940
Photographic Historical Society of Canada
The Iron Plate in American Photograph 1853-1880, Dr. Janice Schimmelman: all about tintypes
Early St. Louis MO Photographers: Comprehensive listing including dates of operation and business address
Liverpool & Wirral Area (UK) Photographers 1874-1900 & Other Years to 1930
Photographic Historical Society of New England
African-American Photographers to c. 1960
Jerome Ltd., Photographer Studios of Edinburgh and UK
The Ontario Photographers List (1851 - 1900), published by © 1990 by Glen C. Phillips. Published by Iron Gate Publishing, Sarnia ON. ISBN 0-921818-04-1.: Second Volume The Ontario Photographers List (1901 - 1925) © 1997, ISBN 0-921818-14-9.
Finding Photographers: Excellent references, bibliography and North American geographical short forms used over decades
Ohio Photographers 1839-1900 by Diane Vanskiver Gagel. ISBN 1887694072.
Directory of Pennsylvania Photographers 1839-1900 by Linda Ries. ISBN 0892710845.

Archives, Online Galleries, Libraries
and Associations

KUJANPAA & Sigrid Maria (SALONEN) KUJANPAA, teachers

Google Image Search -- www.images.google.com/: Fast and comprehensive, though I keep getting meaningless icons at the end of the list.
American Photographic Historic Society: an excellent site with a wealth of a wide variety of antique photographica links
Cartes des Visites Collection of Robert F. Vaughan, Gloucestershire. England. UK
American Museum of Photography: AMP Primer on Processes; Descriptions of the different types of photographs since the beginning of photography. Great links!
BC Archives Visual Records Collection: British Columbia's Archives include photographs, paintings, etc.
City Gallery Old Photo Album
19th Century Photographs for Genealogists
Northeastern Pennsylvania Photos: Loads of photos of people, people at work, graduates, etc.
Photo Find: a collection of over 80,000 photographs from around the world, some dating back to the 1850s
Photographic Historical Society of Canada
Photographic Historical Society, Rochester NY
Tyneside Life and Times - Tyneside, England: 80,000 photographs, prints and postcards depicting life in the region, dating from the 1850s to present day

Preserving Old (and Modern) Photographs

Care and Conservation of Your Old Photographs - Colin Robinson
Care and Handling of Your Photographs
Care and Identification of 19th Century Photographic Prints - Eastman Kodak by James M Reilly, © 1986. ISBN 0-87985-365-4
Caring for Old Photographs
Care of Photographs -- Resources for Private and Family Collections: Excellent advice with examples and source bibliography for preserving precious paper heirlooms by the Northeast Document Conservation Center in Andover MA.
Wilhelm Imaging Research Inc.: Analysis of commercially available papers, inks and printers in terms of longevity and stability of prints produced.
Museum Handbook (American National Parks Service): In-depth, comprehensive information and more than most would want to know about every kind of film since the beginning of photography. How to identify different types of film and the damage that can ruin your heirloom photos.
Take Care of Your Old Photographs, by Claudia Chandler Brocato

Scanners & Digital Imaging

The Virtual Vintage Image : Digital Restoration of Images from Vintage Photos: an extremely informative site to help you use your scanner and camera to reproduce and restore the images we all seem to find amongst family treasures, stashed in a box under the bed, or worse.
Repair Old Photos with Photoshop - Photo Restoration: emphasis is on digitizing with a scanner and using software to "repair" photos
Scanning Tips: a very helpful site even if you don't buy his book


The UnWritten Story an absolutely marvellous website about using old photos to tell a story of the people portrayed, using a bit of detective work, family interviews, etc.