Using Images of America Books to Date Photos

I love finding family photos and have been lucky to have access to many. Much time is spent attempting to identify and date photos as I have many unknowns. 

I have most of Maureen Taylor's beneficial books and a few others written specifically to assist with identifying photos. I keep a running list of vintage clothing websites and photograph databases. However, when dating photos, I often want to look at a larger number of images. Web searches sometimes work, but I must weed out many unneeded items.  

I recently reviewed Erath County (Images of America) by Sheryl Reed Rascher and was pleased to find so many "people photos." I often use my Images of America books when attempting to date photos. These books contain so many pictures, and most are dated. Sheryl Reed Rascher's book includes photos from the 19th and 20th centuries, so I may use it often. 

Borger (Images of America) is one of the books I use when looking at clothes from the 1920s to the 1960s. The author, Jane Snyder Agee, organized the book by years beginning in 1926. 

My Images of America books about the Jamestown Exposition in 1907 give a limited but known time period. These and many other Images of America books have more photos of men and men's groups; however, I find it harder to date men's clothing, so these photos are helpful. 

If you have any Images of America books, consider adding them to your photo identification toolbox. 

If you want to know more about the families I research, click here to like my Facebook page, where you will see each post and other genealogical finds. 

Diana

© 2022 

Amy Waters Yarsinske, Images of America Jamestown Exposition American Imperialism on Parade Volume I, Arcadia Publishing (Charlestown, SC : 1999).  

Amy Waters Yarsinske, Images of America Jamestown Exposition American Imperialism on Parade Volume II, Arcadia Publishing (Charlestown, SC : 1999).  

Jane Snyder Agee, Images of America Borger, Arcadia Publishing (Charlestown, SC : 2012).  

"Product Suggestions," Maureen Taylor, The Photo Detective (https://maureentaylor.com/product-suggestions/ : accessed 1 October 2022).

Sheryl Reed Rascher, Images of America Erath County, Arcadia Publishing (Charlestown, SC : 2022).