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Content is a reliable, but complex source of clues about the date an image
was taken. Most scenic postcards are based on photographic images ... though those
images are usually highly re-touched and may have fanciful colors or other added
features. There are often objects shown that can be assigned at least approximate
dates, such as automobiles, buildings, clothing, etc.
Here, for example, is a postcard of a Detroit hotel, the Ponchartrain:
A little research reveals that this building was completed in 1907. Looking for
other images, one finds several examples on the Library of Congress site containing
the archives of the Detroit Publishing Company. Despite the fact that one of those
images is provisionally dated with the estimate 1900-1910, we can see that the image
differs substantially from our postcard in that the building is much larger. Further
research reveals that five additional stories were added to the original ten in 1916.
So the DPC photos all post-date 1916, and our postcard dates between 1907 and 1916. This
particular postcard bears a 1909 postmark, so we can even further refine the date to
1907-1909.
Dating images based on content requires research, careful observation, and often
a bit of luck, but it can be very revealing.
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