The online ebook I have planned on how to identify and date photographs now has its table of contents online. There are only the first few pages done, on those items that have links on that page. Only paid members of ClassyArts.com have access to those pages. When the whole thing is complete, I will try to make the whole thing available as an ebook, though it may be too large to fit in one PDF file.
The current outline is only partial — the main framework. As I identify more detailed characteristics within those categories, many of them will be broken down further, or existing sub-categories will have additional pages added. The section on Named Motifs of Photographers Imprints/Back Imprints only has half-a-dozen names listed now; I expect that to grow into fifty or a hundred or more.
The format I have settled on is similar to that of the post on this blog on Dating Imprints: Floral Bouquet over Picture Frame, with Camera and Palette with Banners — only the summary table will be the first thing on the page. That way, once you have read the explanation, and understand how the terminology is being used, you can quickly look-up the relevant dates by going to the correct page — and there it will be, first thing.
I have no idea how long it will take me to complete this project — I have several other things going on to keep me busy — but I’ll try to add to this as quickly as I can. There is lots of material I have already written up for other uses (such as the above cited post on this blog), so all I have to do is reformat and clean up the text. Other subjects will require more research, including analysis of example photographs in my dated images collection, which now includes nearly 3,000 images and continues to grow.
Speaking of dated images, I have another blog where I am posting one dated image per week (3000 / 52 — I only have enough material for 57 years worth of posts!) The Dated Images blog is a sub-site of my Genealogy Through Pictures blog, where I try to add a post every few weeks. Give them a visit — but don’t forget to come back here for the latest news!