Dating old photo of a lady

[LilyS]

Hello. This photo is in an old writing case that used to belong to my great-aunt. There is no date on it, but the studio was in Chichester, England, which is where her father was born. I'd really appreciate help dating the lady's fashion so I can work out whether or not she could be my 2nd great-grandmother. Thanks in advance.

 

[Rue_de_la_Paix]

She has such a lovely and sweet face. I might venture a guess at 1880s, perhaps the early to mid part of the decade. This is a bit difficult as she is sitting in such a way that we cannot get a very good look at her dress and the way it fits on the body, the lines of the skirt, etc. If I am seeing it correctly, her skirt appears to have an upsweep in the back with a ruffle pleated hem, and a bit of a bustle as well. Her dress is rather plain, although it was likely a good dress for her. So she may not be wearing the latest styles and it could be an older dress than the year the photo was taken. The sleeves and shoulders seem rather loose for the 1880s, almost as if the bodice is a bit too large for her. Again, that could be the way she is sitting.

This is just a guess, and I am sure some others will come along to give some advice.

Thank you for sharing her with us.

 

[LilyS]

Her dress looks very dark, was this the fashion back then or might she have been in mourning?

 

[LilyS]

I'm thinking she's most likely my great-grandfather's only sister, "Aunt Nellie", born 1857. Her mother was born in 1827, so was over 50 by the 1880s. Unless she was blessed with very youthful skin, I think it unlikely that this is her

 

[Jonathan]

I would go a titch earlier - 1879-1880ish -- bodices become sleeker and sleeves tighter fitting after 1882 and there is still a lot of fringe, bows, ruffles etc. on this bodice, plus the button trim on the front of the skirt is more a 70s feature, and the fabric is reading like taffeta in the photo, which is more typical of the 70s. Her hair is also more typical of the c. 1880 styles and as and she looks like a woman in her early 20s, Nellie looks like a good possibility.

 

[Cheryl Miller]

Looking at the photo signature, there's a bit of history online for this company but some of it is conflicting. But it looks as though the Chichester branch of Russell & Sons was established in the mid 1860s. It endured through changes of ownership from sons to grandsons, but here's my point: the exact logo shown on your photo was definitely being used in the 1860s and early 1870s as shown (respectively) in the attached pictures I found in the National Portrait Gallery.

I viewed all the photos done by Russell & Sons on up through the 1890s and found none that still used that exact logo.

 

[LilyS]

Cheryl, this is very interesting – and I appreciate you diligent photo checking – my 2x great-grandmother was born in 1827, so would have been 43 in 1870. Her only daughter, Nelly, was born in 1857, so would have been 13 in 1870. Your research makes a strong case for the photo-ed lady being my 2x great-grandmother

 

[LilyS]

Looking at her face in more close up (we're in Italy right now, so I can't re-scan at higher definition). I'd say that her face no way looks teenaged, she is a mature woman. How wonderful to see my 2x great-grandmother's face!

 

[Rue_de_la_Paix]

She is beautiful. I still think that Jonathan is correct and that this is Nelly, your great grandmother, who would be in her 20s at the time this photo was taken. Her clothing does not appear to be 1870 but later in the decade and closer to 1880. In general, a lady's clothing is a better clue than a logo printed on the bottom of a photo. It is hard, however, to be sure as she is sitting down and we cannot see her dress silhouette very well.