Why are some photos that were obviously taken in the late 1800s and early 1900s listed with a date in the 1950s or 1960s?
Some photographs on PhillyHistory are actually copies of much earlier photographs. Copies of photos may be made for preservation purposes or because multiple copies are needed for different uses. When a copy is made, it is ideal to list both the date of the original as well as the date of the copy in order to prevent confusion. For example, imagine that in 1950 Jim made a copy of a photograph from 1890. In 1960, Sue finds that copy with just the original date of 1890 listed. Sue may think she is holding a 70 year old negative instead of a 10 year old negative. Even if the material and condition of the negative tell her that the negative does not date from 1890, she has no idea when the actual negative was made – a fact that is important to know for preservation purposes. When we know the date of the original photograph or negative, we try to include it in the information about that photo along with the date the copy was made. If we do not know the original date, we will not guess for f
