Dating Family Photos and Investigating Photographers

Most of the old family photos I inherited had no dates but had some clues to help me determine when, not just who. Now MyHeritage had introduced its new PhotoDater feature, which provides an estimated date as a starting point if we need clues. IMHO, it's a very exciting feature that is well worth taking for a spin.

Dates plus/minus 5 years

The first photo I tried was of my Dad, Harold Burk (1909-1978), holding his elementary school diploma after graduating from PS 171 in East Harlem, NYC. (Today, that school is Patrick Henry Elementary School.) Since I have Dad's diploma, I know the exact date of graduation, even though there is no year noted on the photo itself. In less than a minute after I uploaded this photo, MyHeritage's PhotoDater suggested an estimated date of 1923. Right on the nose! 

Although I don't expect PhotoDater to pinpoint the exact year for every photo, this is a quick and easy way to estimate the dates of mystery photos, in particular. Be aware that the feature typically provides a date that is plus or minus 5 years. Also, the technology intended to date photos taken between 1860 and 1990.

Of course, nothing replaces the in-depth expertise and insights of professionals like Maureen Taylor, the Photo Detective and Sherlock Cohn, the Photo Genealogist. But estimating the date of a family history photo via PhotoDater can at least put me on track toward more complete identification. I highly recommend this new feature and suggest you give it a try! For more info, see the MyHeritage blog here.

Researching a photographer?

Since all four of my immigrant grandparents settled in New York City, I was pleased to discover the NYC Public Library's Photographers' Identities Catalog. This database isn't confined to the Big Apple, but it does have many of the photographers who snapped my ancestors' posed portraits.

Above, I filtered my catalog search by surname of the photographer, Beldegreen. Two are in the catalog--including the one I sought, Gustave Beldegreen. 

Below, when I clicked on Gustave Beldegreen in the results, I got this page, showing that some of his photos are in the collection of the Museum of Jewish Heritage (link also), sources of info (links), and birth/death dates, studio locations. I can compare the studio locations with the home addresses of my ancestors to narrow down the date/place if the photographer's full info is missing from an old photo. Try this with one of the photographers from an old family photo in your collection! Again, the link to the catalog is here.

ONE MORE LINK! Thanks to a kind geneadon on Mastodon, here's a link to Langdon's List of US photographers active in the 19th and 20th centuries. My guy Beldegreen is on the list, having been named in a city directory. Another resource new to me!