Can You Solve A Mystery?
Who’s who, where’s that? That’s what we’d like to know from you!
A small percentage of visual material deposited with the Archives & Manuscripts division at the Fairfield Museum and History Center has not been unambiguously identified. A number of factors determine the availability of identifying information. Dealers may not maintain detailed records on the contents of photographic prints, slide collections, photo albums or scrapbooks. In the case of donated materials, items have frequently been passed down in one family from generation to generation before being given to the FMHC archives, and knowledge of the people and places represented in them may have faded over time. After all, how many people can you identify in your grandparents’ photographs?
Even captions that contain identifying information such as names and dates can be insufficient. Oftentimes, captions on personal photographs assume that the reader can place them into their appropriate context. When this context is lost, however, the interpretation of captions such as “Auntie Emma” or “March 14” can prove difficult at best.
In addition, captions are often affected by physical deterioration. Pencil and ink are both subject to fading when exposed to light. In some cases, humidity and water stains can make the ink run. Foxing, a pattern of brownish stains on paper-based materials caused by some fungi, can further obscure faint writing.
Can you help? Many pairs of eyes see more than one. We will periodically post a selection of unidentified images from our manuscript collections on this page. Perhaps you can help us place some of these images!
If you have any information on the people or places they show, please fill out the form below and send it to us with as much detail as you can provide. You can also call Regine, the Librarian, at 203-259-1598.
Check back often for mysteries solved, fresh leads on old pictures, and new images waiting to be identified!
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