Picture Analysis
Is the baby in this photograph my great great grandfather?
Q I’d like to know more about this family photograph. On the back is written in pencil: “Howard Quillen’s biological mother”. The baby is believed to be my maternal great great grandfather, born March 1894 in Jay County, Indiana, USA. His birth record gives his mother’s name as May Duffy, aged 21, and unwed at the time of his birth.
A This is a formal card-mounted studio portrait taken by a professional photographer. Comprehensive operational dates for Grabill and Gilman aren’t available online, but the website The Indiana Album suggests that they worked from Pennville, Indiana, during the 1890s: tinyurl.com/IndianaPhotographs.
The photographic mount clues also indicate a date in the 1890s, as does the visual image, especially the woman’s appearance. The style of her smart daytime costume – especially the high neckline and wide, puffed ‘leg-of-mutton’ sleeves – suggests that she and the infant were photographed in the mid-1890s: c1894–1896. Baby gowns cannot be dated closely, and unfortunately we can’t even be sure of the child’s gender. However, the firm timeframe appears to support the inscription on the back: the baby might well be your great great grandfather, Howard Quillen, pictured with his birth mother, 21-year-old May Duffy, probably in 1895. Sadly, photographs often recorded separation, and this could conceivably have been taken just before May had to give up her baby. Naturally she would have kept her own copy too. Jayne Shrimpton
1. FORMAT
This standard card-mounted photograph is either a carte de visite measuring about 4½ x 2½ inches or a cabinet print (around 6½ x 4¼ inches) – the two usual formats of the 1800s/early 1900s.
2. COMPOSITION
The vignette composition of the subjects, whereby the central image fades out around the edges into a blank background, as seen here, was especially fashionable in the 1890s.
3. CHILD’S AGE
The child looks to be aged about 12–16 months old, so is the right age to be Howard Quillen (born March 1894).
4 .CHILD’S GENDER
The child’s hair bow could imply a girl, although it’s important to remember that family customs varied and it is always difficult to positively identify the gender of infants who are wearing baby frocks.
5. RING
The lady looks young enough to be 21-year-old unmarried May Duffy and she wears no obvious ring, whereas usually mothers consciously displayed their ring and marital status in photographs.
6. MOUNT
The cream/beige colour of the card mount is most typical of the 1890s and the turn of the century, supporting the presumed date range.