Zprávy památkové péče 2016, 76(1):71-75
Oh fashion, what language do you speak? Notes on dating photos
Historical photographs originating from aristocratic collections contain a wealth of matters related by dress and fashion. In the vast majority and in a unique way, they captured different types of clothing, fashion elements, and issues that were reflected in the life of the aristocracy. The knowledge of any slightest detail and the perfection of its description is an important clue for identifying the captured environment and its relation to a historical event, possibly the recreational activity associated with it. The article uses an illustrated procedure to show the possibilities of further descriptions of historical photographs, where the slightest little thing in the direction of fashion may lead to seeking out more precise data on persons in the aristocratic circle. However, it is necessary to describe historical photographs in a coherent context, confront this media against other iconographic sources such as graphics or artwork, and look at it from different aspects of the description.
Keywords: historical fashion; describing and interpreting photographs; aristocratic clothing; iconographic source
Published: March 1, 2016 Show citation
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