Date of old photo?

[nick3371]

Hello!

Can anyone guess an approximate date to this photo? It was taken in southern Italy and I’m not sure who it is but an approximate date could help narrow it.

Thank you!

[joetucciarone]

Hi Nick - the woman has the "Gibson Girl" hairstyle. According to Wikipedia, it was popular from the 1890s until the start of World War I (1914):

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gibson_Girl

[joetucciarone]

Hi Nick - this photograph was taken by my great-grandfather. We know exactly when it was taken: July 1907. And we know exactly where: in Agnone, in what is now the Molise region of Italy. Both women have the "Gibson Girl" hairstyle. It was popular all over the world, not just in the United States.

[nick3371]

Thank you! That helps narrow it down. Do you know what type of photography this is? It looks like almost a pencil drawing but I know it’s not.

[MarcuccioV]

Thank you! That helps narrow it down. Do you know what type of photography this is? It looks like almost a pencil drawing but I know it’s not.

It appears to be a professional sepia photo taken in front of a cloth backdrop in a studio.

[joetucciarone]

Mark is right. I have a very similar photograph of my great-grandparents taken about 1905. It was taken in a studio, but as with your photograph, it was touched-up by hand. In your picture, you can see that the eyelids and irises of their eyes have been outlined by hand. In addition, the lighting in your photograph is flat, in that it lacks shadows, and the background is too stylized and uniform to be real.

[MarcuccioV]

I also find interesting that the woman looks very much like my grandfather's relatives...

[nick3371]

Thank you both! Then I'll assume this is of my great grandparents taken in 1909 around the time they married.