You may recall the title of the American comedy, If it's Tuesday, this must be Belgium.
Date Photos
That's your first clue to how to date photos. The magic word is date.
A second important word is diary. You can write the names of places you visited in a small diary. It might be worthwhile to buy the smallest diary you can find just to keep your travel record. Then you don't need to write the date, just the name of the country, city, monument, or people met.
You can stick a Post it note on the page, or a paperclip. Or carry a small roll of sticky tape, and stick down place names cut or torn from brochures.
Date Maps and Leaflets
Another system is to write the date on the top of brochures and maps you are given. Later you might wish to throw out last year's city map, and keep this year's.
If you are a librarian or historian, you might file successive years of maps in date order, with the most recent on top in a box file. Then you can find the name of the hotel on the central square of a city you visited ten years ago, which has now changed its name or been replaced or converted.
Family Photos Of Travels
My first thought on trying to clear clutter is that I can throw out old, out of focus pictures. I can also discard pictures of my family silhouetted against windows.
In theory, you can take out of focus physical photos, copy them, bring them into focus, make them lighter, and colour them.
Add Colour To Photos
My husband has used a website, one of several similar sites, to colour old photos of groups of people around railways, stations, trains, for his historical account of wine and railways.
How accurate is the colour? Does this matter?
The colours of trains and uniforms of soldiers are often known. In modern times we have numbers specifying exact colours so you can order paint, or print company stationery and signs. Big companies such as McDonalds specify the exact shade of yellow or red.
Take Self-captioning Photos
I take self-captioning photos deliberately at the start of a trip. Failing that, in the middle. I take photos saying welcome to, signposts, history boards, hotel and museum names over doorways.
Check Old Photos For Name Signs
Sometimes old photos show the placename by chance. The hotel name is on the doorway. The sign post or street name is small in the background.
The Bear Fountain - A Vital Clue
In one of my old family photos, lacking a caption, the photo shows my mother is standing beside a fountain.
Angela Lansbury's mother on holiday. Where?
On second glance, I notice another vital detail. The fountain has a bear on top of a statue in the middle of the fountain.
Swiss Bear Fountain
I start by searching for statues with bears. I discover a city in Switzerland, Bern, known as the city of bears (and clocks). I find a photo of a bear statue on a fountain. Eureka.
German Fountain
On second thoughts, are we sure? No. The fountain below is a different shape.
Eventually, after more searching, we find an exact match. The fountain is on a plinth. The buildings on the other side of the street are timber-framed. The road slopes downwards.
The photo was of Bodensee, Lake Constance, Germany.
The Psychological Value Of Old Holiday Photos
I now know my mother visited Germany. She had a happy holiday there. So long ago. Is this important? Yes, psychologically. Instead of my most recent memory of my mother being the day she died, or the funeral, I have a more recent memory of her standing happily beside a fountain on a sunny day on holiday.
I also broadened my general knowledge of places to visit. I know about Switzerland and Germany. I have places to add to my bucket list, must visit places.
I also have a concversation opener for two countries. When I next meet somebody from Switcerland or German, whether they were born there, live there, work there, or are planning a holiday, I can ask, have you been to those places, or were you near them?
Family Photo Detective
You might know that your widowed grandmother always wore black. If you know the date her husband died, you could date a photo of her, at least to after a certain date.
Home Country Photos
I look at my family photos. Some are where we lived in the UK, others in the USA, Spain, and Singapore.
I have photos of the family in the back garden of our house. I notice the conservatory on the back of the house. If I know the date the conservatory was built, I can date the decade of the photo.
I can see how tall our son is. If he is taller than his parents or grandparents, he must be at least ten years old. If he was born in one decade, that photo must be from the next decade or later.
If he is wearing a school uniform, he will remember the name of the school. On the wall of his old bedroom or the display shelving in the lounge, I have one or two of his old school photos. They show the school uniforms.
Add Anecdotes
A one line comment brings your story to life. I have a photo of Switzerland. My mother wanted to live there.
You may have photos showing a package holidays starting in the Sixties. Package holidays were new and popular and cheap. What is obvious to the elderly who lived in that era might not be obvious to the next generations.
Print A Book Of Your Travels
I could now compile a book of my own or my family's travels.
For an 80th birthday, or wedding anniverary, I could compile a book. Print on demand.
In addition to museums and libraries, some pubs and restaurants displa hsitoric photos of the area. You might frame your photos for sale, on loan, as a gift. For a centenary celebration, annual fair, new year's eve party.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/If_It%27s_Tuesday,
More about Bodensee in the next post.
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