Genealogy Chat

I have an old studio photograph of my adult grandfather and his brother that I would like to try to narrow the date. of. It was taken by Blacks Studio, and my aunt thinks it is probably pre 1914. He was born in 1890 so would have been in his 20's
The men are wearing suits and boater hats. The collars of their shirts are slightly rounded. and on the left arm of the brother is a black armband, unfortunately the left arm of my Grandfather is obscured.

The backdrop is of a beach scene that includes the pier.
I know it's a bit of a long shot

Would it be worth contacting Southend Museum to date when Black's was open? If they can't help they may be able to put you in contact with someone who can.

http://www.southendmuseums.co.uk/

Kelly's Trade directories don't seem to list the studio under Black, although to be fair, Ancestry don't give all years.

There is a free site to browse Trade Directories, something begining with Archive? May be another member may know.

Try googling to date the outfits. If they are in Mufti, then we'd expect them to be pre 1914 as your aunt suggests, or post 1918

Thanks. Yes they are both in mufti. I did wonder if the armband was for the death of their father. His mother remarried in 1907, when he would have been about 17 and his brother about 20. Both the men look older than that.

This site might help

http://www.historicaldirectories.org/hd

or look at the website for Jayne Shrimpton