About people who don't write on the back of pictures...

Question

"There is a special place in hell for people who don't write on the back of pictures"

     - Caroline Kinlock (Bull) Grannis, (1919-2005) dear sweet grandmother of my wife

Comments

Good to know. Then we get all the answers when we finally meet up there. 

Do they have internet?

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I hope so!

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Keith,

Please see question immediately prior to yours (re abbreviations).

It took some time to find out where VT is, particularly since no country is listed/

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Thanks

Maybe we should add a category to find those pictures easier..

[[Category: Picture names will be added when we meet the photographer in Hell]]

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Thanks Peter,

I filled it out a little better, although I personally use Co for County and USA for you know what :)

Cheers!

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Keith,

I am one of those guilty of jamming photos in albums without writing on the back. I hope Hell does have internet or it'll get lonely down there.

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Love the quote. There should also be a special place in hell for the Victorian photographers whose wonderful photos of thousands of wives and daughters are stored in archives with the tag "Mrs. So-and-So," "Miss Smith," etc. So frustrating!

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I have a picture of my grandmother from when she was 12 yrs old in 1930. Written on the back is "The day the circus came to town"

Because, you know, that helps narrow things down 86 yrs later.

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Hmmmm. Maybe there was only one circus? My Mother-in-law curses constantly about not labeling pictures but she has a really good eye for faces so she can usually match them up.

Answer 1

It's a good idea !

Answer 2

With hundreds of my pictures in digital format and not printed, still on the SD card, I am in big trouble. There is not enough room to write all the information on the back of one of those.

Answer 3

As a photographer, I say never, Never, NEVER EVER write on a photograph, front or back. In a few decades it will mar the image, sometimes beyond repair.

NEVER WRITE ON A PAPER BASED PICTURE.

Comments

Could possibly use Acid Free Paper & Hinges that Stamp Collectors use ?

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Not true in Vermont  :)

I have tones of pictures much, much older than a few decades that are written on.  No damage caused.

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I have photos that are ruined from having been written on the back with ink. (not by me)

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Perhaps ink is a bad idea.

Most of the ones I have were written on with pencil either on the back or on a margin.  I have been very thankful as they often indicate who, where, and or when.

Some of the heart-breakers are the ones that we know are family pictures but the details have been lost.  I might or might not have the only known picture of my great-grandfather Frank.  I wish the name at least was jotted on the back like so many of the others :)

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I agree. I spent several days going through my photos and writing the names of the people on the backs of them after finding some OLD photos at my mother's house with no name on them. If my mother wasn't still alive, there would have been almost no chance of identifying who were in the photos. I do recommend writing on the back edges of the photos, though, instead of writing across the middle.

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Also, on digital photos, you can usually add tags to them to identify them. That way, they also have the identifying information that future generations will want to have.