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A Personal Case Study
This is a special case study; it not only establishes the date of the photo, but also who it might be.
First the background. This watch belonged to my great-grandfather who died in 1907. The watch lives in a safe deposit box of one of my aunts; was passed down from the original owner to my grandfather to my aunt.
As part of some on-going family research, Aunt Margaret retrieved the watch so I could photograph it. I had heard of the watch, but didn't realize it included a picture inside. The identity of the photo had been lost to time., so we set about trying to figure out when the watch (and picture) were made and who the charming woman was. |
- Eyes and Ears
- Mouth and Chin
- Hair
- Dress
Tracing the Watch
Cousin Dean was able to trace a serial number inside to an Elgin Watch web site where he discovered the internal works were made in 1883. The g-grandfather and his wife were married in 1881. We deduced that this was a late marriage gift from the wife, or maybe a birthday present about 1885.
However, there was no initial idea of who the woman was. This photo was of a very young woman, the earliest confirmed photo we had of the wife Marian was from about 1920.
Who Is That Woman?
We discussed the possibility that the girl was one of his three daughters - but then how could you have just one daughter in your watch?
We had no early pictures of Marian, so we had to do facial comparison against pictures taken 40 years later. Some careful inspection would overcome pure speculation.
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Photo Date: c. 1883
Comparison Techniques
There are several facial features to examine when comparing pictures of different eras.
One of my favorites is the ears. Extensive studies conducted in England for facial recognition use the ears. The concept is the folds, sculpting, and placement of ear components are unique to a person and do not change over time. The ear size will change, but not the traits. Check for length of the ear lob; the position, depth, and shape of the 'tunnel' into the ear; and the sculpting of the inside/top portion. You will find this technique is surprisingly accurate. The trick is to have two pictures with a clear look and similar orientation of an ear.
Other facial features to examine are shape and depth of eye (sockets). Shape and position of eyebrows. Nose shape and size. And shape of mouth.
Hairlines in men should be looked at in men, with obvious receding in later years.
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