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I've got the following photo that I'm trying to identify the woman wearing a diaphanous shawl in it, and thus would like to estimate the date and location of the photo and age of the woman:

enter image description here

The watch might be a good clue to help date it (also note the pinky ring): enter image description here When were watches in fashion to wear and does the style of the watch offer any dating information? Were diaphanous shawls in fashion for photos in Texas?

The annotation written in lower left may help locate the photo: enter image description here Do you think KC is Kansas City? Do you think 14 is 1914 or the number of the photo? Could the name be the subject or the photographer? One candidate for the subject is a Mrs. Carroll., but I don't read the writing as quite stating "Mrs. Carroll" and maiden Maggie Thorp married Carroll in 1921. Maggie lived in Irion County, Texas in 1914.

Here is detail of the face: enter image description here She looks to be around age 20. The candidate Maggie Thorp was born in 1894, so she would have been 20 in 1914.

Here is known photo of Maggie Thorp taken around 1921 or after (about age 27 or older) taken with her husband in Bryan, Texas (would they have been professionally photographed before marriage?) (Full photo is here): enter image description here Does this appear to be same person, or just a close relative that looks similar?

The photograph portion of the print measures 7.5" x 9.5". The back of the print has this annotation in the upper right corner: enter image description here That appears to read "No 1892" which I'm thinking is the photograph number for the studio and not the year.

So in summary, does this photo and wrist watch appear to be from 1914 and does the woman look to be 20 years old and match the 27 year old known photo?

Another unknown, possibly of the same family, possibly the same person: enter image description here

And here is known sister to Maggie, named Gussie married to Mr. Edens: enter image description here

There are three sisters in this family, the third is Mollie, but I have no photos of her and she died in 1923 at age 27. She was married to Mr. Raley. I found this paywalled Ancestry.com yearbook picture that appears nothing like these photographs, very large nose.

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    To me, the photographic style, haircut and clothing all suggest early 1920's. I do not believe the woman in the unknown photo is Maggie Thorp, however. The end of Maggie's nose is narrower, her face seems slightly more angular, and her eyebrows appear less arched. There's something different about the eyes, too.
    – Jack
    Mar 20, 2019 at 1:18
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    The name is tricky. It looks more like "Mrs Benett" to me, but could be a lot of things. There is a dot above, perhaps from an "i". But the capital looks like "B" or "R" and I think it ends with a double "t". And below could be "KS" rather than "KC". I agree with Jack that the features aren't a great match to Maggie Thorp, particularly around the eyes.
    – AndyW
    Mar 21, 2019 at 9:57
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    The name is almost certainly the photographer. It looks like Mark Burnett to me. I'm sure of the Mark, not so sure of the last name. This is a great resource, but they say it's incomplete. citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/… I recommend contacting a KC historical society to find the photographer.
    – Cyn
    Mar 22, 2019 at 17:09
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    Check out this history of wristwatches as fashion. Mostly only worn by women in the 19th century, first one in 1868. Around WWI for a wider distribution of ww's. nytimes.com/2013/10/23/fashion/…
    – Cyn
    Mar 22, 2019 at 17:12
  • pictriev.com/fc.php gives 49 out of 100 for similarity with Mag Thorp.
    – WilliamKF
    Apr 6, 2019 at 16:16

2 Answers 2

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Wristwatches enjoyed a significant increase in popularity during the First World War. Their convenience over pocket watches was a driver for this.

I have inherited my grandmother's wristwatch, which is of a very similar style to the one in the picture. The thick curved bezel is distinctive. The watch is hallmarked 1920.

I would date your picture to within a couple of years of this date.

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The women is identified to be Ola Mundy in 1914. This was determined by finding a second photograph, of same size, of same date, which written on the back cardboard said Miss O. Mundy, 710 S. Park, Indep, Mo. 1914 is right before she got married in 1915, so these appear to be engagement photos.

Back:

enter image description here

Front:

enter image description here

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