I got this faded photo from the United States. It wasn't just that the photo was identified, but it was also the outfit of this lady that fascinated me - the witch-like cape and the huge hat (Happy Halloween month to everyone!:)). Please meet “Hazel Hoyt, Bertie’s wife”.  The text on the back is hilarious … Continue reading Hazel Cline née Hoyt

I can't explain it, but sometimes when I look at a stranger's face in an old photograph, I sense the warmth of their gaze as if I knew them in another lifetime. The photo of "J.L. Hunt Sr." from Cambridge, New York, shows one of those faces. So where there's a Senior, there must be … Continue reading John Legus Hunt Sr. from Cambridge, NY

This dapper gentleman came to me from my fellow photo collector Chase from Canada. It is identified as "Benjamin F. King" and the photo was taken in Old Town, Maine, in the United States. Benjamin Frederick King was born on October 9th, 1876, in Prince William, New Brunswick in Canada. Father George William King (1848-1922) … Continue reading Benjamin F. King, from New Brunswick to Maine to L.A.

This lovely photo shows an almost 6-year-old Maxine Wyatt, a little darling with a happy face, shiny shoes and a bracelet a size too big for her. Perhaps it was mama's and she was allowed to wear it for this photo which was taken on October 17th, 1916. Maxine Isadelle Wyatt was born on New … Continue reading Maxine Wyatt from Marshall County, Iowa

This week I shared photos of little Lilo Obst and her family on my Instagram account @photoswithoutfamilies. Lilo is short for Lieselotte and she was born in about 1916 to parents Edmund and Lotte Obst. Her father Edmund Obst was a businessman in Leipzig and Berlin in Germany. He was born in about 1887 in … Continue reading Family Obst/Noack from Leipzig

My last blogpost was about Polly Crannell née Selleck. It is only after I wrote it that I realised there was another photo with that surname in the batch which I had bought from the Instagram seller @threebrowndogsantiques from the United States. This one wears the stamp of the American Civil War era, it was … Continue reading Eugene Selleck and wife Olinda

Hello, my second identified tintype! Pleased to make your acquaintance, Mrs. Polly Crannell née Selleck! The clues on this tintype are priceless: "Mrs. Robert Cran(n)ell, sister of Jonas Selleck". Although spelt with one "n" on the tintype, the surname was easy to find and link with one Jonas Selleck. And thanks to the family trees … Continue reading Polly Crannell née Selleck