If you are fortunate enough to have an identified photo, avoid being content with that. Include any additional information you have about the identification with the photograph. That’s what’s has been done with this 1930 picture of the Alfred Rampley family of Alabama.
The handwriting is mine, but I had no idea who these people were. My grandmother told me when we went through some of her photographs in the 1980s. Grandma might not even have known the names of all the people in the photograph, just who they were as a group. Alfred Rampley was Grandpa’s first cousin and I doubt if Grandma ever met them. It’s also possible she surmised who they were when we saw the studio’s stamp on the back that indicated where the photo was taken. That was the only family we had in Alabama.
But if you know anything about the handwriting or identification of the photograph beyond the names, include that in your image of the photo. You or someone else may be glad later that you did.
3 Responses
Along with writing information on the back of the photo, I would scan the photo at a high resolution, put Alabama, Rampley in the metadata, print at the bottom of the photo”Alfred Rampley family of Alabama per grandmother (her name)”
You might consider reminding people that notes made with ink pen on the backs of old photos can damage the photo’s emulsion. Better to use a soft lead pencil.
Good reminder. Thanks!