Kathy’s Corner » Exploring Our Mystery Photos, Part 1 » January 2025

Kathy’s Corner is Projectkin’s longest-running series. It features Kathy Stone, a professional archivist and photo organizer with a unique perspective to family history storytelling. From the start, she’s focused on photo organizing with an eye toward the foundational family history stories they hide.

You are always welcome to share these recordings and detailed notes. If you enjoy them, we hope you will return to join the community and learn more.

In earlier episodes, Kathy took a methodical approach through each of the eight steps in her process featured in this post from late 2023:

She’s starting 2025 with practical applications of carefully sorted, scanned, and archived photos to explore the stories they have to tell. To get to the creamy tale in the middle, sometimes it’s helpful to start from what you can deduce.

Here are some of Kathy’s tricks:

Estimate the Date by Identifying the Type

“Good enough” estimates of dates can go a long way to getting you started. Identifying your family photographs starts with identifying what type they are. Types are generally defined by the technologies available when the photo was taken, so it can reveal the era in which it was taken. Once you know the era, it can be easier to identify the people, place, or occasion in a photo.

To help with that, Kathy included several useful tools:

* PhotoTree.com

* Identifying and Dating 19th-Century Photographs (PhotoTree)

* Science and Media Museum, “How to Spot a Cabinet Card”

* Ancestral Findings: Identifying the Era of a Photo By its Type

Ask the Photographer

In markings on or around a print, you’ll often also find indications of the photographer's name, address, or location. The venerable Cindi’s List site includes an extensive list of photographer identification sites:

* Cindi’s List: Identifying Photographers

One expert in dating and estimating photos is Maureen Taylor, who draws on resources from fashion and technology.

* Maureen Taylor, The Photo Detective. She has a popular podcast and blog and is the author of “Identifying Family Photographs” available at her site with consultations and other books.

Special Cases for Postcards

If “real photo” postcards are in your collection, you might appreciate the detail at Playle with guidance on

* How to Identify and Date Real Photo Vintage Postcards - paper name,production dates and stamps.

* Don’t miss the “Quick Reference Real Photo Old Postcard Dating Guide”

Special Guest: Hazel Thornton

With that as background, Kathy introduced us to the author, photo organizer, and family historian Hazel Thornton. Hazel is the author of “What’s a Photo Without the Story: How to Create Your Family Legacy?”

Hazel shared her journey, which began with an intriguing photo in her collection. With a little detective work, she identified the subject and location. In her book, she takes you through the story.

* You can reach Hazel directly