Web Wandering Wednesday

ANOTHER SOURCE TO USE IN
DATING OLD PHOTOGRAPHS!

Private Collection
Women Wearing Glasses
footnoteMaven

Here's another source to use in analyzing an old photograph to determine its date. Look at the design of the card mount. Here is an intricate pattern found on a photograph of one of my collection of women wearing glasses. The inset shows a close-up of that pattern.

Run a Google Patent search for "Design Card Mount." I ran that search and found a patent match for my photograph. The patent illustration can be seen below.

Patent Illustration

The pattern in the photograph inset shows it is a match to the patent inset below.

Inset - Card Mount Design

Inset - Patent Design Illustration

This Patent number D31955 was issued 5 December 1899 to John P. Odgers, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, assignor to the A.M. Collins Manufacturing Company also of Philadelphia. (Assignor - Individual who transfers a title, claim, property, interest, or right to another person. Odgers was either an employee of Collins or he sold his designs to Collins.)


The photograph used here, as an example, was most probably taken after 5 December 1899, the date the design was patented.