1860's kilt photo - opinions requested! Costume or own kilt?

[Aussie_Don]

Has the picture been 'flopped' or is your grandfather playing 'wrong-handed' deliberately?

I could be wrong, but given the time that the image
was made, it's likely to be a Daguerreotype -- and they
are effectively negative images.

see: Wikipedia-- Daguerreotype

My recollection is that a number of early photographic processes
resulted in reversed images.

-Don

[figheadair]

I'd say that it's deinitely fancy dress of the photgrapher's studio rather than something owned by your family. Relatively few people own a Highland outfit in the 1860s and those that did would have been relatively wealthy. This sort of image was becoming increasingly common as a means of individuals referencing where they came from, especially when leaving Scotland for pastures new.

[TJ Kelley]

I have had my Mother going through old photos for quite some time now. She has "slowly but surly" sent pounds of them to be scan. Unfortunately we are over 1300 miles apart and I know how swiftly she works. I may have the image next week or by newyears... hehehe. As soon as I have something I will post it up and send you a PM.

[mcavoycem]

Thanks - whenever you find it I will be grateful to see it. - Colleen

[unixken]

Has the picture been 'flopped' or is your grandfather playing 'wrong-handed' deliberately?

Old photos from that era were often taken on emulsified glass plates, that could easily be viewed as flopped. Perhaps that is the case here?

Consider this quote, from a page describing early photography ( http://www.cycleback.com/1800s/earlyphotos.htm )

"As a negative shows lights as darks and darks as lights, a black backing was put behind the image to correct the contrast. The negative's mirror image could not be corrected, so all images including writing are in reverse."

[georgeetta]

MY grgrgrunnie Janet Douglas Morrison b about 1840 was born in New Monklands too. Her Da John Douglass B about 1800-1820 was also a coal miner . She married grgrgrda John Morrison also a coal miner ..tonws mentined were Airlie, Whifflet, Coatbridge ..Whitburn (?) ..they shuffled east to ..Striling area ..

Granda was a coal miner from Cowie ..Stirling ..

there is sights on Coal Mining life ..Lanarkshire etc ..

the mine village owners instilled music fishing and gardening to keep the men off the drink so not to screw up porduction .

about 1924-6 the pit closed in Cowie . An old timer Jim Hutchins was over 100 he was a close family friend and last coal miner I cna think on ..they had a hard life ..that was 1920's ..

there is famous painting ..the iron steel works were close to the coal works ..near Monklands .

there was old and new monklands ..lands reserved for Monks ..land grants ..

there is an extensive church and graveyeard ther with lists of many burials ..

Dave

Cunningham fits the area right ? ..we used to think our Morrisons were Lewis men ..now seems they are more likely .."Buchanan" Morrisons ..

[georgeetta]

http://www.monklands.co.uk/coatbridge/

painting of the mills fired up at night your ancestor left ..it was described as hell at night ..or no difference bewtene day or night ..so lit up ..

"Gartsherrie by night "

http://ookaboo.com/o/pictures/pictur...R_Stanley_c185

they lived rough ..the water was generally contaminated and piped sometimes right ut the mine into a tub and very black ..my grgrda had lung bothers ..his Granda John Douglas traveled with the family so he was probably infirmed too at 70 or so ..in Stirling Bannockburn area ..

there's lots on ..miners ..get lucky you might get name of pit and address shoudl be no bother to check ..we get free geneology stuff at library ..ancestry.com ..line up 1850-1860 name and family and work backward or slide over to parish records ..or births ..

th
d