Is this couple celebrating 50 years of marriage?

QI have been given this digital photo, which I think shows my 3x great grandparents Henry and Jane Hatton, and wonder if you could date it? Henry was born in 1815 and Jane in 1813, and both lived in Reading. Their 50th wedding anniversary was in 1892 – was this the occasion for the photograph? Linda Kent

AThis card-mounted studio portrait looks like a carte de visite, the most popular Victorian photographic format. Information regarding the named photographers, Appleton & Spencer of Reading, is elusive. I contacted cartedevisite.co.uk without success. However, the visual image and style of the studio’s card mount together provide a firm timeframe.

The subjects’ conservative appearance indicates the mid-to-late 1880s/the turn of the 1890s. They are elderly, possibly in their 70s, fitting with Henry and Jane. The couple undoubtedly commissioned the photo for a special occasion, probably their 45th wedding anniversary or their Golden Wedding. This is supported by the generic printed mount design, which dates to c1884–1892.

Jayne Shrimpton

1 WOMAN’S DRESS

The tight-fitting, frontbuttoning, round-necked bodice is typical of the 1880s. Her draped skirt indicates a modest bustle behind, fashionable in the mid-to-late 1880s and retained by older ladies until the early 1890s.

2 FROCK COAT

The knee-length frock coat that the male sitter is wearing was a conservative garment. The silk braid on the edges of his waistcoat was especially fashionable in the 1880s/early 1890s.

3 MOUNT

These ornate letters were common during the 1880s/turn of the 1890s.

4 ANNOTATION

The note dates from the late 1880s to c1950.

5 STAMP

Faint writing reads “Garden City Art School, 171–173 Randolph Street, Chicago”.