Is this 2x great-grandfather Port?
QI’ve recently received this photo from a newly-discovered cousin and I’m hoping it’s my 2x great-grandfather, Thomas Port. Thomas was born in 1822 and had 13 children with two wives, born between 1849 and 1875, including daughters born in 1865, 1866, 1868, 1872 and 1875. I’m hoping that Jayne will be able to date the photo, although I’ve already been able to find out enough about the photographer in trade directories to indicate that it must have been taken between 1867 and 1878.
David Annal
A
This professional studio photograph is a carte de visite (cdv) measuring around 10 x 6.5cms. Produced in Britain from 1859/1860 until the early-1900s, the new massproduced card-mounted print brought portraiture to many of our ancestors, remaining the most popular format of the Victorian age. Millions of cdvs survive in today’s family picture collections and there are various ways of narrowing down the date of individual examples.
Studio dates
As you have discovered, it can be helpful to try to research the operational dates of the named studio and you mention the years 1867-78. I consulted with Ron Cosens, who runs the website www.cartedevisite.co.uk, and his meticulously collected data (usually available to researchers for a small fee) for James Sunderland’s studio at 67 Bull Street, Birmingham spans a shorter time period of 1871-78. This is likely to be the most reliable time frame.
Clothing clues
Studying the image, the studio setting is absolutely typical of the 1870s, especially mid-late decade, as we see for instance from the style of seat and props to the right – an attempt at naturalisticlooking logs or rocks. The evidence of dress also supports this time frame, especially the little girl’s hairstyle featuring a shortcut fringe and the style of her striking knee-length juvenile dress.
The man’s appearance is harder to pin down precisely: he is middle-aged and dressed quite conservatively, but the wide, curved lapels of his frock coat accord well with 1870s masculine modes.
In summary
Based on a combination of the available studio evidence and the pictorial clues, I suggest that this photograph was taken c.18741878.
I agree with your assertion that the scene portrays an older father and young daughter. You identify the man as your 2x great-grandfather Thomas Port, born in 1822 and therefore aged here in his early-mid 50s. The small girl looks to be aged broadly 4-8 years old, most likely 5-7 years of age. In view of the probable 1874-78 date of this photograph, she must then be one of three of Thomas’s five daughters: a middle daughter born in 1866, 1868 or 1872.
Further considerations
It may be possible to narrow the possibilities even further if we consider why this photograph may have been taken. Studying your ancestors’ appearance in more detail, we notice that Thomas wears an unusual prominent dark (black?) cravat. More significantly, the bold and profuse contrasting black trimmings on the girl’s white/ pale frock accord well with prevailing midvictorian customs concerning children’s mourning. Although it can be hard to discern mourning for certain in old photographs (except when adult women are present), I believe that Thomas and one of his daughters from the first marriage (the youngest?) may well be posing here for a formal mourning photograph. Presumably this would have occurred following the death of Thomas’s first wife/the child’s mother, although I am not aware of the date of her death or of his second marriage. However, hopefully your records will confirm whether my hypothesis is plausible, demonstrating how this special family photograph represents a poignant, interim phase in your ancestors’ lives. JS