Unlocking the Secrets in Old Photographs

Good background review for someone attempting to organize family photos. Sources in back of book allow for more in-depth areas for study.

Dull, boring and stuff I already knew..........

I find this book very useful. Author Karen Frisch-Ripley gives specific information on locating old photographs and using genealogical research techniques to identify the subjects pictured in them. She discusses the different types of photographs and clues in the photographs themselves that can help date them. She emphasizes the importance of carefully studying the persons, scenes, and objects in each photograph.

The usefulness of this book to anyone who has spent any time at all with family photos is pretty limited. It covers the most basic apsects of the topic: dates for evolution of the various types of photographs, a little (very litttle) on dress styles, a decent (if dated) bibliography, ideas for gathering photos from relatives, furniture clues, etc. I read it through cover to cover in a day. The 190pp. could have been condensed to about a quarter that length.I found chapter 5 on the technical details of photograph evolution was handy and the (single!) chapter on dating photographs (chap. 3) was decent. Then again a quick google search would have yielded most of this information online.For a basic book on the topic, I prefer Maureen Taylor's more recent Uncovering Your Ancestry through Family Photographs (Betterway, 2000).Far more helpful are the various books on costuming and details of clothing.

Fab seller, book in great condition and a very cheap bargain price will shop at their store again.The book is a great find and a really useful tool in aiding me to discover the age of old images in my possession.Big thumbs up for the book and also for the seller, and I highly recommend both book and seller to all.