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Family photos: looking after family photographs

Welcome to the 10th and final in our series of blogs about how to understand and interpret your old family photos. In this series, Jayne Shrimpton, internationally recognised dress historian, portrait specialist, photo detective and regular contributor to Family Tree, Your Family History and Family History Monthly magazines, dates and analyses different types of photographs and helps you to add context to your old family pictures.

Jayne Shrimpton

Family photographs may seem relatively commonplace items because they exist within a domestic setting and often in large numbers, but they need to be looked after carefully. Inherited studio portraits or amateur snapshots may have survived so far in remarkably good condition, or they may already be damaged.

Photographs can be surprisingly complex objects and may consist of several layers, each containing different substances that react to outside influences in various ways. Unfortunately this means that certain types of photograph deterioration are untreatable, so the best policy is to try to prevent commonly-occurring problems from happening in the first place.

There are many potential causes of damage and deterioration to photographs:

• High temperatures, which accelerate fading and tarnishing
• Exposure to light, especially sunlight, which causes fading of the image
• Damp conditions, which can produce mould, ‘foxing’ (dark spots) or discolouration
• Very dry conditions, which can cause brittleness, cracking and flaking
• Poor quality or inappropriate storage, framing and mounting methods, which may emit pollutants, leading to fading, discolouration and tarnishing. This can also cause tears and creases and staining from sticky adhesive tapes and album pages
• Some photographs are at risk from insect attack such as silverfish, woodworm, booklice and carpet beetle
• Handling causes further deterioration as dirt can scratch vulnerable surfaces, while fingers may leave prints and damaging moisture from the skin

Family photos tend to be passed around frequently because we enjoy looking at them and they are easily portable, but we shouldn’t underestimate their value as fragile historical artefacts. It is important to consider how they are stored, displayed and handled if they are to last in good condition for another hundred years, or more.

Storage

It is important to store and file photographs using boxes, envelopes or albums of suitable archival quality – see later section below. Once in an appropriate storage system, they should be kept in a cool location at home where surrounding conditions are neither very damp nor very dry – a stable environment ideally with a relative humidity within the range 30-40%. Old photographs, therefore, should not be stashed in damp basements or garages, or in stuffy, un-insulated lofts, but perhaps in a dark cupboard or spacious drawer, in a room where there are no significant fluctuations in temperature or humidity.

Daguerreotype and ambrotype frames and cases (see blog one) and old albums (see blog nine) should be regarded as integral to the photographic images they contain and in these instances it’s important to keep the whole artefact intact. If any elements have a problem – for example, if a hinged case is broken – this should be dealt with by a professional conservator who will use processes geared towards maintaining the integrity of the photograph in its original context (fig.1).

Display

It is tempting to exhibit old family photographs where they can be seen; however, try to avoid displaying them at high light levels, or for long periods of time. Ultraviolet (UV) filtering glass helps to protect photographs during periods of light exposure. Any framing materials should also be of high quality. Ideally, make a copy print for display purposes, so that the original photograph isn’t exposed to the light.

Handling

Try to keep handling of precious original photographs to a minimum, but if it is necessary, make sure that hands are clean and dry. Ideally, wear lint-free cotton researchers’ gloves: there is currently some debate about the advisability of using gloves when handling fragile papers, but most professionals agree that they are important for working with photographs (fig.2).

In addition, hold photographs by their edges and use a supporting base, such as stiff paper or card to move particularly fragile photographs. Scanning photographs (see below) then storing them suitably, working instead from printed copies or from digital image files on the computer, saves regular handling of the fragile originals.

Conservation

For more detailed expert advice about looking after photographs, visit the website of the Institute of Conservation. The downloadable Icon leaflet, Care and Conservation of Photographic Materials, offers further information (fig.3).

If, as the family custodian of photographic heirlooms, you are in any doubt at all about the care and repair of old photographs in any format, professional advice from a trained conservator is always recommended. The aim of photograph conservation is both to reverse damage, if this is possible, and to ensure that future deterioration is reduced to a minimum. The Icon website also offers a useful Conservation Register of qualified, professional conservators.

Conservation quality archival storage materials

Public museums, art galleries, archives and record offices generally preserve their important photographs (and other historical items, such as pictures on paper, documents and old books) in specially designed conservation quality storage systems. Essentially these provide fragile and potentially vulnerable objects with physical support and protection against permanent damage and decay in a safe, acid-free environment.

The kinds of products that public institutions use are also commercially available to the wider public for use at home, so there is no excuse not to take good care of precious family pictures and other important keepsakes. This applies not only to old photographs but also to more recent photos and other family papers and ephemera that need to be preserved. The archival products available offer many different storage and display possibilities, including acid-free boxes of varying shapes and sizes, ring binder systems, photo album pages, folders, envelopes, pockets, tabbed dividers, sleeves and even CD cases (fig.4).

Particularly useful for convenient handling and viewing of family photographs of different sizes are transparent inert polyester or polypropylene pockets which (unlike PVC) contain no harmful chemicals and are safe for long-term storage. Other accessories include researchers’ lint-free cotton gloves, pH neutral pens for marking and mounting products, such as acid-free paper and card, archival mount strips, tape and adhesive (fig.5). These and other items are available from specialist conservation suppliers and from some general genealogical suppliers. Reputable companies can offer advice and answer queries about the best products for preserving and archiving photographs.

Creating digital images

Family picture researchers with computer skills will already be familiar with making digital copies of photographs and storing these as compressed image files on the computer or other electronic media. It’s always a good idea to create digital versions of old photographs as these can be used for research purposes, to save handling the fragile originals. Digital images are also easy to share with others via email and can be uploaded onto family history or image-sharing websites.

Photographic prints, negatives and slides can all be scanned. Card-mounted photos are the simplest to scan at home, but even framed or cased daguerreotypes and ambrotypes, which are three-dimensional objects, can usually be scanned successfully using a flatbed scanner.

When scanning photographs, it is advisable to scan each one individually rather than several at a time, as they may need to be separated later anyway for research purposes and, additionally, the details will be clearer if scanned separately. Scanning black and white photographs as colour pictures, rather than greyscale, gives the best picture quality and scanning at normal size, at a resolution of 300 dpi (dots per inch) is a good choice for most photographic images. The resolution doesn’t generally need to be any higher, unless the original photograph is very small – for example a tiny snapshot or small tintype, which are best scanned at 600 dpi.

Picture files of 300 dpi and higher resolutions naturally take up more computer or disc space than those scanned at a lower resolution but these high-quality pictures will be suitable for most purposes, including reproduction in many kinds of printed publications, should the need ever arise. Scanned images can be saved in various digital formats: both JPEG (jpg) and GIF are currently in widespread use, jpg being perhaps the more popular and considered by some users the most convenient format.

For picture researchers uncertain about scanning or without necessary equipment, there are many commercial photo-scanning companies that will carry out this work for a fee. Some high street outlets provide this service although, depending on the number of pictures to be copied, it may be worth searching the internet for the most cost-effective option.

Some of the popular genealogy websites offer a scanning service as part of the package and there are also specialist photo companies experienced in scanning old family photos. If having pictures scanned commercially involves sending original material through the post, be sure to use the most secure postal service available, such as registered post, or a reputable courier company offering parcel tracking facilities.

Finally, if storing digital images and indeed any important data on discs and other electronic media, remember to protect them also from environmental damage and accidents. Clean computer drives routinely to prevent damage to the media and only handle CDs by the very edges, storing them well away from liquids, dust, extreme heat and direct sunlight. Rigid purpose-designed storage containers are ideal, special conservation quality CD cases affording the best protection.

Old family photographs are unique and precious mementoes – irreplaceable if lost or badly damaged. Let’s do our best to ensure that they are well-preserved for future generations to enjoy and learn from.

Fig.1 Damaged cased daguerreotype, 1840s - click to enlarge. Daguerreotype photographs are old and fragile pictures and when cased they consist of at least five different materials. Repairs are therefore complex and should only be undertaken by a trained conservator. (www.whatsthatpicture.com)

Fig.2 Jayne Shrimpton dating photos at ‘Who Do You Think You Are? Live’ - click to enlarge. Wearing lint-free researchers’ gloves when handling original photographs prevents dust, dirt and grease from being transferred between the hands and the vulnerable picture. These cotton gloves are inexpensive, easy to wash and are widely available. (Family Tree: www.family-tree.co.uk)

Fig.3 Icon Leaflet: Care and Conservation of Photographic Materials - click to enlarge. The Institute of Conservation (Icon) produces a downloadable leaflet giving helpful advice about looking after old photographs – visit www.icon.org.uk

Fig.4 Conservation quality storage products - click to enlarge. Original photographs should be protected from damage and deterioration by using special conservation/archival quality products for storage and display. These acid-free box, mounting sheets and clear polyester pages are all good for organising photos. (www.timecare.co.uk)

Fig.5 Archival quality photograph accessories - click to enlarge. These professional clear polyester ‘V’ mounting strips, easier to use than glue or tape, are acid-free and therefore ideal for safely mounting and displaying old family photos. (www.familytreefolk.co.uk)

Family photos: what’s the history?

Welcome to the first in a new series of blogs about how to understand and interpret your old family photos. In this series, Jayne Shrimpton, internationally recognised dress historian, portrait specialist and photo detective (pictured below), dates and analyses different types of photographs and helps you to add context to your old family pictures.

Jayne Shrimpton

What type of photograph?

Portrait photography is 170 years old and seven, even eight, generations of the family may have been portrayed in photographs. Yet many old photographs have been passed down without labels or notes giving helpful information about the date, occasion or people depicted in them.

Different types of photograph, or formats, were produced throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, each having its own recognisable features. Identifying the format of a ‘mystery’ photograph and locating its place in history is the first step to establishing an accurate timeframe.

Daguerreotypes c.1841 – early 1860s (most common c.1845-55)

The first commercial photography studios of the 1840s produced one-off photographs on a silvered copper plate, known as daguerreotypes. The natural successors to miniature paintings, daguerreotypes cost around one guinea each – expensive luxuries beyond the means of ordinary working ancestors, hence they occur rarely in today’s family collections. Being fragile images, daguerreotypes were protected under glass, framed in a gilt surround and fitted into a folding case.

A few early-1840s daguerreotypes survive, but most belong to the period c.1845-1855. After the mid-1850s they were rapidly eclipsed by cheaper photographic formats.

Daguerreotype in leather case, c.1847-8. The earliest studio photographs, daguerreotypes mainly portray prosperous ancestors. This lady is believed to be the wife of a Windsor property developer who served as Mayor, 1846-7 and 1854. (Chris Cobb). Click to enlarge.

Ambrotypes (collodion positives) c.1852-1890s (most common 1855-early 1860s)

The next photographic format was the collodion positive, usually known as the ambrotype. Another unique picture, the ambrotype was a negative image on a glass plate, backed with black varnish (shellac) or velvet to create a positive photograph. Like daguerreotypes, ambrotypes were mounted into a brass or pinchbeck surround and often protected in a case, or framed for hanging on the wall. The technique, devised in 1852, was widely used from mid-decade but its heyday was brief. Many ambrotypes set in the studio date from within just a few years, c.1855-60, although a few itinerant photographers produced them until c.1890.

Costing around one shilling by 1857, ambrotypes brought photography to more working people and they occur in a number of family collections.

Paired, cased ambrotypes, c.1860. Ambrotypes were the most common type of photograph c.1855-60. Affordable for many working people, these paired pictures portray the children of a Calcutta cabinet maker, photographed when visiting London. (Chris Cobb). Click to enlarge.

Cartes de visite c.1858-1919 (most common c.1860-1908)

The small carte de visite, measuring around 10cms x 6.5cms, was the first commercially produced card-mounted photographic print. Arriving from France in 1858, the carte came of age in Britain in 1860 and rapidly achieved widespread popularity from 1861 onwards, inspiring the ‘cartomania’ phenomenon. Convenient cartes (or cdvs) could be mass-produced and, being fairly inexpensive, extended to all social classes by mid-decade.

Copies were collected, given as gifts and exchanged, leading to production of the first purpose-designed photograph albums in the early 1860s. Any collection of early family photographs is likely to include cdvs as they dominated Victorian photography, remaining popular in the Edwardian era.

Carte de visite, c.1863-4. Printed cartes were the first mass-produced photographs and in Britain they became popular throughout society soon after 1861. This example is typical of an early carte. (Jayne Shrimpton). Click to enlarge.

Cabinet Prints c.1866-1919 (most common late 1870s-c.1910)

In 1866 the cabinet photograph was introduced – another print mounted onto card, but, measuring around 16.5cms x 11.5cms including the mount, over twice the size of the cdv. At first cabinet prints gained little favour, but demand gradually increased during the 1870s and by the 1880s they were a popular choice, their production finally equalling or exceeding the carte by the 1890s.

Cabinet prints, like cdvs, were still available in the early-1900s, even the 1910s, although surviving examples usually pre-date 1910. Together cartes and cabinet prints account for most Victorian and Edwardian studio photographs in early picture collections.

Cabinet print, c.1892-4. Cabinet prints, larger than cartes, were introduced in 1866. Popular by the 1880s, they were the most common card-mounted photograph of the 1890s. (Kat Williams). Click to enlarge.

Tintypes (ferrotypes) In Britain 1870s-1940s

The tintype, or ferrotype, is identifiable as a photographic image struck directly onto an iron plate. Like daguerreotypes and ambrotypes, tintypes were unique pictures but they cost just a few pence – their cheap price generally reflected in their inferior quality. Produced in the US from the mid 1850s, tintypes were less fashionable in Britain, scarcely being recognised there until the later 1870s. Never widely popular, demand for these modest photographs nonetheless persisted until the 1940s. Well-suited to itinerant photographers, tintypes often depict outdoor scenes, such as the beach or fairground.

Surviving examples may be framed under glass in a decorative surround or may simply comprise a thin, sharp-edged piece of metal: tiny ‘gem’ tintypes were sometimes inserted into carte de visite or other card mounts.

Tintype (ferrotype), early-mid 1880s. Tintypes, produced in Britain from the late 1870s, are often quite informal photographs, showing family members enjoying a day out. (Pat FitzSimmons). Click to enlarge.

Portrait postcards c.1902-1940s

Postcards offered a new card format for photographic portraits in the early 20th century. The first picture postcards had appeared in the 1890s, but after 1902, following the introduction of a convenient divided back with separate spaces for the address and a short written message, they began to be used for presenting photographic portraits. Portrait postcards could be posted, like other postcards, but often the photograph was never intended for that purpose, being kept for the image.

Both commercial and amateur photographers used postcard mounts and many examples survive in family collections, dating from c.1902 until the 1940s.

Postcard portrait, c.1910. Many family photographs taken between c.1902 and the 1940s are mounted onto postcards with a divided back. (Kat Williams). Click to enlarge.

20th century card-mounted studio photographs

Some early 20th century studio photographs are neither cdvs, nor cabinet prints, nor postcards. Large or small prints were sometimes mounted onto a stout card of a pale or muted colour – usually off-white, beige, grey, soft brown or dusty green. Mounts were typically much larger than the picture, the wide border offering scope for subtle detailing – often a series of borders or a decorative surround pressed into the card.

In time, as photographic papers became sturdier, some photographs were presented in a folder. Between the 1920s and 1940s the fold-over card was popular: this had pre-cut slots in its back half for containing the photograph, while the front folded over to protect the image.

20th century mounted studio photograph, c.1900. Some early 20th century studio photographs are mounted onto thick, pale or sombre coloured card. The wide frame often has borders or designs pressed into the card. (Claire Dulanty). Click to enlarge.

Amateur ‘snapshots’

Amateur photography has existed for as long as professional photography, but for many years mainly the affluent, leisured classes followed the expensive and time-consuming pursuit. In the 1880s, following technical advances, some middle-class hobbyists began to shoot spontaneous photographs for their own amusement and some of these 19th century ‘snapshots’ do survive. Most families, however, didn’t take up amateur photography until the 20th century. The early-1900s saw a significant rise, with more rapid growth during the 1910s, and most casual snapshots in family collections date from that decade onwards.

Amateur ‘snapshot’, c.1926-30. Casual ‘snapshots’, usually outdoor photographs, are common in family collections. Although early examples can occur, most date from at least the 1910s. (Kat Williams). Click to enlarge.

Look out for the second blog in this series, coming soon. View Jayne’s website here

Further reading

The Victorians: Photographic Portraits, Audrey Linkman (Tauris Parke, 1993)

Dating Nineteenth Century Photographs, Robert Pols (The Alden Press, 2005)

Dating Twentieth Century Photographs, Robert Pols (The Alden Press, 2005)

Family Photographs and How to Date Them, Jayne Shrimpton (Countryside Books, 2008)

How to get the most from Family Pictures, Jayne Shrimpton (Society of Genealogists, 2011)

Family photos: what's the history?

Welcome to the first in a new series of blogs about how to understand and interpret your old family photos. In this series, Jayne Shrimpton, internationally recognised dress historian, portrait specialist and photo detective (pictured below), dates and analyses different types of photographs and helps you to add context to your old family pictures.

Jayne Shrimpton

What type of photograph?

Portrait photography is 170 years old and seven, even eight, generations of the family may have been portrayed in photographs. Yet many old photographs have been passed down without labels or notes giving helpful information about the date, occasion or people depicted in them.

Different types of photograph, or formats, were produced throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, each having its own recognisable features. Identifying the format of a ‘mystery’ photograph and locating its place in history is the first step to establishing an accurate timeframe.

Daguerreotypes c.1841 – early 1860s (most common c.1845-55)

The first commercial photography studios of the 1840s produced one-off photographs on a silvered copper plate, known as daguerreotypes. The natural successors to miniature paintings, daguerreotypes cost around one guinea each – expensive luxuries beyond the means of ordinary working ancestors, hence they occur rarely in today’s family collections. Being fragile images, daguerreotypes were protected under glass, framed in a gilt surround and fitted into a folding case.

A few early-1840s daguerreotypes survive, but most belong to the period c.1845-1855. After the mid-1850s they were rapidly eclipsed by cheaper photographic formats.

Daguerreotype in leather case, c.1847-8. The earliest studio photographs, daguerreotypes mainly portray prosperous ancestors. This lady is believed to be the wife of a Windsor property developer who served as Mayor, 1846-7 and 1854. (Chris Cobb). Click to enlarge.

Ambrotypes (collodion positives) c.1852-1890s (most common 1855-early 1860s)

The next photographic format was the collodion positive, usually known as the ambrotype. Another unique picture, the ambrotype was a negative image on a glass plate, backed with black varnish (shellac) or velvet to create a positive photograph. Like daguerreotypes, ambrotypes were mounted into a brass or pinchbeck surround and often protected in a case, or framed for hanging on the wall. The technique, devised in 1852, was widely used from mid-decade but its heyday was brief. Many ambrotypes set in the studio date from within just a few years, c.1855-60, although a few itinerant photographers produced them until c.1890.

Costing around one shilling by 1857, ambrotypes brought photography to more working people and they occur in a number of family collections.

Paired, cased ambrotypes, c.1860. Ambrotypes were the most common type of photograph c.1855-60. Affordable for many working people, these paired pictures portray the children of a Calcutta cabinet maker, photographed when visiting London. (Chris Cobb). Click to enlarge.

Cartes de visite c.1858-1919 (most common c.1860-1908)

The small carte de visite, measuring around 10cms x 6.5cms, was the first commercially produced card-mounted photographic print. Arriving from France in 1858, the carte came of age in Britain in 1860 and rapidly achieved widespread popularity from 1861 onwards, inspiring the ‘cartomania’ phenomenon. Convenient cartes (or cdvs) could be mass-produced and, being fairly inexpensive, extended to all social classes by mid-decade.

Copies were collected, given as gifts and exchanged, leading to production of the first purpose-designed photograph albums in the early 1860s. Any collection of early family photographs is likely to include cdvs as they dominated Victorian photography, remaining popular in the Edwardian era.

Carte de visite, c.1863-4. Printed cartes were the first mass-produced photographs and in Britain they became popular throughout society soon after 1861. This example is typical of an early carte. (Jayne Shrimpton). Click to enlarge.

Cabinet Prints c.1866-1919 (most common late 1870s-c.1910)

In 1866 the cabinet photograph was introduced – another print mounted onto card, but, measuring around 16.5cms x 11.5cms including the mount, over twice the size of the cdv. At first cabinet prints gained little favour, but demand gradually increased during the 1870s and by the 1880s they were a popular choice, their production finally equalling or exceeding the carte by the 1890s.

Cabinet prints, like cdvs, were still available in the early-1900s, even the 1910s, although surviving examples usually pre-date 1910. Together cartes and cabinet prints account for most Victorian and Edwardian studio photographs in early picture collections.

Cabinet print, c.1892-4. Cabinet prints, larger than cartes, were introduced in 1866. Popular by the 1880s, they were the most common card-mounted photograph of the 1890s. (Kat Williams). Click to enlarge.

Tintypes (ferrotypes) In Britain 1870s-1940s

The tintype, or ferrotype, is identifiable as a photographic image struck directly onto an iron plate. Like daguerreotypes and ambrotypes, tintypes were unique pictures but they cost just a few pence – their cheap price generally reflected in their inferior quality. Produced in the US from the mid 1850s, tintypes were less fashionable in Britain, scarcely being recognised there until the later 1870s. Never widely popular, demand for these modest photographs nonetheless persisted until the 1940s. Well-suited to itinerant photographers, tintypes often depict outdoor scenes, such as the beach or fairground.

Surviving examples may be framed under glass in a decorative surround or may simply comprise a thin, sharp-edged piece of metal: tiny ‘gem’ tintypes were sometimes inserted into carte de visite or other card mounts.

Tintype (ferrotype), early-mid 1880s. Tintypes, produced in Britain from the late 1870s, are often quite informal photographs, showing family members enjoying a day out. (Pat FitzSimmons). Click to enlarge.

Portrait postcards c.1902-1940s

Postcards offered a new card format for photographic portraits in the early 20th century. The first picture postcards had appeared in the 1890s, but after 1902, following the introduction of a convenient divided back with separate spaces for the address and a short written message, they began to be used for presenting photographic portraits. Portrait postcards could be posted, like other postcards, but often the photograph was never intended for that purpose, being kept for the image.

Both commercial and amateur photographers used postcard mounts and many examples survive in family collections, dating from c.1902 until the 1940s.

Postcard portrait, c.1910. Many family photographs taken between c.1902 and the 1940s are mounted onto postcards with a divided back. (Kat Williams). Click to enlarge.

20th century card-mounted studio photographs

Some early 20th century studio photographs are neither cdvs, nor cabinet prints, nor postcards. Large or small prints were sometimes mounted onto a stout card of a pale or muted colour – usually off-white, beige, grey, soft brown or dusty green. Mounts were typically much larger than the picture, the wide border offering scope for subtle detailing – often a series of borders or a decorative surround pressed into the card.

In time, as photographic papers became sturdier, some photographs were presented in a folder. Between the 1920s and 1940s the fold-over card was popular: this had pre-cut slots in its back half for containing the photograph, while the front folded over to protect the image.

20th century mounted studio photograph, c.1900. Some early 20th century studio photographs are mounted onto thick, pale or sombre coloured card. The wide frame often has borders or designs pressed into the card. (Claire Dulanty). Click to enlarge.

Amateur ‘snapshots’

Amateur photography has existed for as long as professional photography, but for many years mainly the affluent, leisured classes followed the expensive and time-consuming pursuit. In the 1880s, following technical advances, some middle-class hobbyists began to shoot spontaneous photographs for their own amusement and some of these 19th century ‘snapshots’ do survive. Most families, however, didn’t take up amateur photography until the 20th century. The early-1900s saw a significant rise, with more rapid growth during the 1910s, and most casual snapshots in family collections date from that decade onwards.

Amateur ‘snapshot’, c.1926-30. Casual ‘snapshots’, usually outdoor photographs, are common in family collections. Although early examples can occur, most date from at least the 1910s. (Kat Williams). Click to enlarge.

Look out for the second blog in this series, coming soon. View Jayne’s website here

Further reading

The Victorians: Photographic Portraits, Audrey Linkman (Tauris Parke, 1993)

Dating Nineteenth Century Photographs, Robert Pols (The Alden Press, 2005)

Dating Twentieth Century Photographs, Robert Pols (The Alden Press, 2005)

Family Photographs and How to Date Them, Jayne Shrimpton (Countryside Books, 2008)

How to get the most from Family Pictures, Jayne Shrimpton (Society of Genealogists, 2011)