Unfortunately there is no date nor names on the back of this photograph.
I am pretty sure the old lady on the right is my grandmother. In the middle beside her is my father. I haven't got a clue who the others are. It looks like a family photo does it not?
I have tried to figure it out but it does not add up with the ages of the people, unless I am guessing the wrong ages.
My dad was born 1903.
My grandmother was born 1869.
Or could this be my great grandmother born 1841. My grandmother had four children. Could it be her holding her last baby born 1908 ?
The pretty girl standing could be her eldest daughter born 1898.
The little boy with the sailor suit could be my father, 6 years old and his younger brother 4 years old.
The picture could have been taken in summer 1909, the last baby girl on the arm of her mother was born in June 1908.
I rather think the other people might be the children from a sister or brother of my grandmother,perhaps! I probably will never find out.
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What a mystery, it would be so good to know who they are. I have been looking at the style of clothes to try and date it but i am far from an expert. The clothes do look like the photo could have been taken in 1909. I do hope someone else will know about clothes styles for the different eras and be able to help you sort this out. It certainly does look like a family group, it looks like a happy occasion.
ReplyDeleteSometimes these old family photographs yell out more questions than answers, don't they? Whoever they are, they make a good group for this little treasure.
ReplyDeleteIt's a delightful, sunny moment in time, no matter who the people were... :)
ReplyDeleteWonderful picture. My vote is that the old lady is your great grandmother. Anyway, I hope you do find out who's who.
ReplyDeleteWas the world much cooler back then? I am always struck by how heavily everyone seems to be dressed back then.
ReplyDeleteGiven Christine's discussion today (Daily Postcard entry in Sepia Saturday) of sailor suits and when they came into vogue, I'd lean toward your latter interpretation.
ReplyDeleteThank you for all your interesting comments.
ReplyDeleteMarilyn, Yes I did this too sailor suits were born by children in the late 1900. but could well go into the 20. century clothing was not so readily available as today.
Martin, you are so right there are usually many questions.
Jinksy, yes it looks that way and it is still a nice memory.
Toemailer, this picture might have been taken in spring or summer in Switzerland. You are right people were more and heavier dressed, Here in Queensland they must have wilted in their heavy dresses in the hot and humid summers.
Meri, thanks for the suggestion, I am still undecided as the young man in the middle just looks so alike my father.
My opinion on the dates/ages: I think the young man in the middle is at least 16, and I think one would need to research clothing in Switzerland to see what people were wearing in what years. My guess is that the rural styles were a little behind what people were wearing in the cities, especially European cities. If it's your father and if he's about 16, the photo would have been taken about 1919. Also consider that older people hung on to old styles of clothing longer. Plus, nearly 100 years ago, people seemed to age more quickly. I can imagine that the lady on the right is about 50, assuming the photo was taken about 1919. Can you fit any of your brothers siblings into the time period?
ReplyDeleteAside from trying to figure out who's who, this is a fabulous photo. The people all look so wholesome and physically fit. Beautiful!
Nancy thank yo for your input. I think 1919 could be alright. My grandmother would have been 58, my father 16, his older sister 21, holding the baby,
ReplyDeletehis younger sister 11 years old this would fit. I am at a loss as who the two little boys and the man are. His older sister never married but she had a child. Thanks so much for helping along.
Great photo, despite the mystery. If the young man in the middle is indeed your father, then he looks like a cheerful sort.
ReplyDeleteLiebe Titania
ReplyDeleteDiese Matrosenkleidung, die der Knabe im Vordergrund trägt war wohl damals sehr modern. Ich erinnere mich auch an Bilder meines Vaters von annodazumal, wo er solche getragen hat (1906 war er geboren). Mein Bruder hat all diese Bilder bei sich gesammelt, so bleiben mir nur die Erinnerungen.
Heute denke ich manchmal, hätte ich doch meinen Vater noch dies oder jenes zu früher gefragt, doch als ich noch jünger war fehlte die Zeit oder das Interesse.
Liebe Grüsse
Elfe
Thank you Patty for your comment.
ReplyDeleteElfe, danke, vielleicht kannst du einigePhotos zurueck haben von deinem Vater und Familie. Oder
du koenntest wenigstens Kopien machen auf dem PC. Es ist mir auch so ergangen, fuer eine lange Zeit waren diese Bilder verschollen. Wenn man jung ist hat man meistens andere Interessen und keine Zeit fuer die Vergangenheit. LG T.
Titania, I think my late grandfather was born about the same time/year of your dad's ;-) We don't have photos of our grandfather at all. Probably it was too expensive to have one taken here...
ReplyDeleteGreat family photos...do you use Ancestry.com to research? I'm working on it. I have bunches of old family photos and use fashion as part of the way to date stuff. So sorry I did pick the brains of the older generation! BTW we're only working on 44yrs, check my older posts.
ReplyDeleteStephanie, that is a pity when there are no photos.Many Poeple had a struggle to survive and not the money for photographs. I think a lot of old photgraphs have been lost because nobody was interested.
ReplyDeletePat, no I have not used it. Yes fashion is a good way to use to find out more. 44 years is very good! Yes I will check.
family or not, they're a keeper!! i love the whole setting.
ReplyDelete:)~
HUGZ
Thank you to all for your comments.
ReplyDeleteSo gerne ich in alten Fotos schmöckere, so schwieriger ist es all die unbekannten Gesichter richtig zu identifizieren. Gerade kürzlich haben wir wiederum die Bilder im alten Sekretär unserer Grossmutter angeschaut und gerätselt...eine Lösung werden wir nicht mehr finden. Dabei hat uns Grossmama immer wieder mal etwas erzählt....und ich habe mittlerweilen so vieles schon vergessen. Mir gefallen auch deine Bildschätze...zeigen sie doch viel Aehnliches zu denjenigen die wir haben, da ungefähr in der gleichen Zeitepoche aufgenommen :-) !
ReplyDeleteEs liebs Grüessli,
Barbara