Handwriting experts needed!

Question

Hi there!

Can anyone figure out what this says!?

Here is the front of the photo for context.

This family has a connection to Vancouver, British Columbia.

Any guesses??

Comments

I think you are dealing with abbreviated names on there

Center is pretty clear

Car (Carol, Caroline..?.) ... N...

See Mrs Alle..

Just because the studio was in Montréal does not mean it was in French, we have a fair population of anglophones too.

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I have seen this photo before in my researching of Mountain View related ppl. let me go rack my brain and get back to you

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That would be fantastic if you can come up with something. I tried to do a couple of searches on Find a Grave, Mountain view but did not find the photo.

Answer 1

If from Vancouver it doesn't seem likely to be in French, though the only clear word "Car" ("For") suggests that.

My very speculative guess would be:

Center

Car Mr ab

See Miss Celea

Could you tell us the names of some people in the family that might give a clue?

What is the brown mark at the right hand side? Could it be a piece of tape concealing more writing?

Comments

Brilliant! 

I should have mentioned that the info on the back of the frame indicates it was made by a photo studio in Montreal. So it can be French. 

I removed the tape and it looks like there's an n at the end of that word.where you have: See Miss Celea

Thanks for the input. I really don't know anything about the family in the picture. 

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Good! With an "n" on the end it could be "See Miss Allan".

Do you detect a family resemblance? I'm wondering if it might be a child with father and grandfather.

Maybe somebody knowledgeable about the history of men's clothing can pin down a rough date.

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That's a clear picture with very dark blacks. If it's a cabinet photo (on thick cardboard stock), you can tell by the size and sometimes the borders approximately when it was done.

Boys at that time were often dressed like we dress girls.

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The paper is quite thick and I do feel that it is a boy. I think the photo might be from late 1800s through the early 1900s. But that's a guess.

Answer 2

Are you sure the text is contextual to the picture on the front?

I read many possibilities:

(centerin/centurion)

car (N/M) (is/as)

(all/see) (M in/Min) (all/cell/)

Comments

Thanks for weighing in.