Dating photo stock

[Michael B]

Originally Posted by EYECOLLECTVINTAGE

Thank you!

So if this is a post 55 photo it will flourese under black light?

As David said in the next to last sentence "Most after will fluoresce..."

Having a very large archive of photos I would agree with all that David said especially about the aging of paper. There is also a feel to older papers. Many times you can hold it in your hands and feel the age by the texture and thickness. Heavy fiber papers used by professional studios for portraits are fairly consistent but even those have a certain feel. Another consideration is size of the image. 8x10 did not become common until the 1940's. Prior that smaller sizes were used more - 3x4, 4x5, 5x7 and 6x8. I have quite a few photos of the first three listed smaller sizes from circa 1903 to 1912. This relates to photos produced by professionals - Bain, Thompson, Bushnell etc. not snapshots.