Dating by Design: 1840-1915

Stephen Gill • £18.95
familyhistorybooksonline.com

How many family historians have a box of old photographs of their ancestors lurking in a drawer somewhere? And they are not sure who it is or what date it is or what period it was taken. Help is at hand with this new book enabling readers to date photos even down to a precise year.

The book is colour-coded by five-year periods based on the year the image was taken. Readers can read through the book or dip into it for whatever year particularly interests them. After a brief history of photography, the author then gives explanations as to the different types of images – daguerreotype, ambrotype, etc, and the various smaller cards such as carte de visite and cabinet cards.

The colour illustrations show every detail. As the author notes… when looking at your old photograph, once you have decided which type it is, start by looking at the sitter’s hair. He goes on to show a breakdown of all the style changes of women’s hairstyles from 1840 up to 1900. He applies the same thorough investigative method to other fashions of men, women, children with regards to hair, headwear, neckwear, skirts, trousers, jackets, shoes and so on or each period. No detail is missed out.

Identifying Cap Badges: A Family Historian’s Guide

Graham Bandy • £25
pen-and-sword.co.uk

Identifying Cap Badges is the book that has been missing from the bookshelves of family historians, military enthusiasts, and badge collectors alike. It is quite easy to find an erudite book on military cap badges, but you could spend hours, if not days, plodding through hundreds of pictures to find a match for the one you hold. Sometimes you may not find it at all. These learned badge collector’s books have one major flaw; they are pictured and discussed in ‘order of precedence’, that is to say, from the earliest formed regiments to the latest, with separate sections on medical, engineers, cavalry, infantry, etc. This can be most confusing to those uninitiated into the dark arts of military badges. Thus, if you do not know the name or ‘original number’ of your regiment in this order of precedence, you can be flummoxed. This, combined with all the different crowns, laurels, animals, mythological beasts and castles, can prove more than a little daunting, even to ex soldiers themselves. In this book you will find badges ordered by what is on the badge itself; be it a dragon, sphinx or castle, horse, lion or tiger. This is badge identification in minutes, rather than hours, with added information on dating badges and many comparison photographs alongside all the pictures of the badges. Added to these pictures are short histories of the regiments and family trees plotting the antecedents of today’s units.

Tartan, The Illustrated Encyclopedia of: A history and visual guide to 750 tartans

Iain Zaczek • £15
annesspublishing.com

This newly updated illustrated guide provides a detailed insight into the origins and history of tartan, from the very earliest samples, through those worn by the warring clans in the Stuart rebellions, to the Katsushika Japanese dancers. The first section details the story of tartan, with information on the way the fabric and weaves developed, and how it became a symbol of resistance. The main part of the book is a directory illustrating the major clan tartans followed by international and modern tartans, with a wealth of history and background to each. From the ancient Bruce family to Neil Armstrong, who took his family tartan to the moon, tartan is one of the most enduring symbols of national pride and individual reputation. It is also a peculiarly inclusive, adaptable way of proclaiming allegiance and belonging.