Old Picture of orphanage?? How old??

[koolaidsmile]

I found this picture and its obviously pretty old but I'm trying to get an idea of how old? I'm not very good when it comes to dating things. It looks like maybe an old orphanage?? What do you think? I was also wondering if pictures like this have any monetary value ?











Kathy (koolaidsmile) :-)

 

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[osage express]

If you look at the photo you will see lights hanging down.That makes me think after 1900 or there abouts.Cool photo.How much it is worth is what someone is willing to pay....Osage

 

[bigfoot1]

the photo appears around 1910 ish.I am no expert but I have spent some time with this kind of thing.osage is right about lighting.also note crib and chairs,which should be assumed were not new at time of photo.my best guess...but at least an avenue for further research for you

 

[Breezie]

Kathy, I think BigFoot is pretty spot-on with the date. It could be slightly earlier, but 1905-10ish seems right. I agree with you that it is an orphanage for several reasons: Note that all of the younger children have short hair; this was to help prevent the spread of head lice. Only the 2 older girls have long hair, and they were probably old enough to tend to their own hygiene. There is also a mixture of nationalities, not much variation in their clothes, most of the girls have on black stockings instead of white, lockers/storage going up to the ceiling; all which says orphanage to me. They all look miserable.

The value would be in someone wanting a photo of their Mom, Dad, Grandparents etc. Advertising this photo in a newspaper in the area where you think it was located would probably spark some interest. I know if any of those children were my parents, I would pay for the photo or at least a copy of it.

Where did you find this? Breezie

 

[Mackaydon]

Anything on the back, like the photo studios name or logo?
Is the pic glued to the black backing?
Don....

 

[koolaidsmile]

Yes the pic is glued to the black paper. No markings at all

Kathy (koolaidsmile) :-)

 

[Mackaydon]

The ID of the pic and/or the photographer may be on the back of the pic if you can separate it from the glued backing.
Don...

 

[Breezie]

The ID of the pic and/or the photographer may be on the back of the pic if you can separate it from the glued backing.
Don...

If the glue is water based, you can soak/float the photo in water until the backing releases. Dry the photo, and place something heavy on the tips of all 4 corners so the photo doesn't curl. Although I've done this method myself, please do not try it if you feel it will ruin your photo.

Breezie

 

[capt-zero]

Here is another bit of info that might help. The location appears to be an orphanage and money was probably a little tight to be hiring a professional photographer. The print does not appear to be a large format studio camera type of print. The Kodak P1 and P1A came out in 1926, I believe. It was the first personal camera available to the general public. You didn't mention the size of the print, but the P1 used A116 film. What we would call medium format today (about 4X5). I would suggest that your photo was probably taken with a similar camera.

 

[turtlefoot13]

I would take care of trying to remove the photo. That appears to be the original mount to me (very similar to CDV's and Cabinet Cards).

Doug

 

[koolaidsmile]

The print is actually a larger print its a 9 1/2 x12
The black paper is pretty crinkly like if you hold it to firmy it will fall apart. I'm not sure because the fact that its so fragile and falling apart if that will hinder the process of removing it from the backing??

Kathy (koolaidsmile) :-)

 

[koolaidsmile]

You know one thing that amazes me though. The fact that there's 1 black baby mixed with white children?? I would have thought that even the orphanages would have been segregated!! Huh

Kathy (koolaidsmile) :-)

 

[artemis moon]

You know one thing that amazes me though. The fact that there's 1 black baby mixed with white children?? I would have thought that even the orphanages would have been segregated!! Huh

Kathy (koolaidsmile) :-)

I thought the same thing!

 

[Hdubya]

I know absolutely nothing about dating things but this picture is amazing! Someone would surely pay some kind of money for it.

 

[mical66]

i can not say for 100% , but i have heard of orphanages here in east tennessee that took indian children and 1/2 indian children and they were mixed in with white kids, even though they were though of as bad or worse then black kids at the time. really some sad stories come out of those places ....honestly a few of those girls look indian or mixed to me.