About the compiler
I started writing about old photographs in the early 1990s, when I was still a lecturer in English, and I continued to write about them during my years as a freelance industrial journalist. I’m still writing about them.
My books include Family Photographs 1860-1945, Dating Nineteenth Century Photographs, Dating Twentieth Century Photographs and Dating Old Army Photographs. The most recent, My Ancestor was a Studio Photographer, is published by the Society of Genealogists.
I wrote a number of articles for the Oxford Companion to the Photograph; I’ve contributed to Ancestors and Practical Family History; and I produce a regular Photo Detective feature for Family History Monthly. I’ve also discussed the dating and interpretation of old photos on Radio 4 and regional BBC radio channels.
I’m always interested in discussing new writing projects that relate to early photography.
Robert Pols
September 2011