how to know if this pic was originally b and w or sepia? although the bottom right looks "black"it isnt really in the original... picture is from the 1950's thank you...

E

although the bottom right looks "black"it isnt really in the original...
picture is from the 1950's
thank you

twowindsbear

ANY 'historic,' as opposed to more modern photos that are some type of color print, sepia photo was originally black & white, because sepia is a toning process for b & w prints. A photo can 'turn yellow' due to mishandling and assorted other reason, and may be difficult to properly identify as truly sepia toned.

I'd say 'probably not sepia toned' for the photo you posted, more likely faded & such as I mentioned above.

IMHO, of course.

drklrd Loc: Cincinnati Ohio

E wrote:

although the bottom right looks "black"it isnt really in the original...
picture is from the 1950's
thank you

I have done Sepia toning. This is what I see from the image you have posted. The print you have is from what I know B&W and never toned. The grays have a bit of age fading and yellowing to them from age. I brought the shot up on my other computer to be sure about the B&W and yes there is no brown toning there just some yellowing from age.

lamiaceae Loc: San Luis Obispo County, CA

E wrote:

although the bottom right looks "black" it isn't really in the original...
picture is from the 1950's
thank you

Also, Sepia toning was also done as a preservation or archival treatment for regular Silver prints. It of course does alter the "color" of the monochrome but if done correctly will preserve that print and it should not degrade or change with age. Your print seems flattened and probably just aged or yellowed and faded, and not Sepia tones as other have pointed out. Obviously seeing the actual print would be diagnostic.

lamiaceae Loc: San Luis Obispo County, CA

E wrote:

although the bottom right looks "black"it isnt really in the original...
picture is from the 1950's
thank you

Very early 1950's or late 1940's, or earlier. The woman's hair-do was popular as early as 1941 (look at WWII pics and films). But you may know when this posing or event was.

ORpilot Loc: Prineville, Or

Hard to tell without looking at the original. I did sepia toning when I was teaching film and in my own darkroom. If you do a complete bleach and tone then there will be no black. But by varying the amount of bleaching and maybe only bleaching 50% then you will get some blacks in the shadows and full sepia in the highlights. I know that this isn't much help but a maybe a little more info for you.

drklrd Loc: Cincinnati Ohio

E wrote:

although the bottom right looks "black"it isnt really in the original...
picture is from the 1950's
thank you

This is one you should work on by hand to restore due to lost detail in the print cause by fade. I have done a few of them by hand. Shades and shadows need to be restored as well as naturals folds in the clothing and some facial detail needs to be added. Start with a copy print out and work it with pencils until you have the required detail then scan and print the improved image. Since you do not work on the original at all other than to make a good copy the original will be untouched. I used to start with a copy print that I personally sepia toned adding color and flesh tones with pencil and chalk. You will need from an art store a lacquer coat that has tooth so that the pencil will work on a print.

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

ORpilot wrote:

Hard to tell without looking at the original. I did sepia toning when I was teaching film and in my own darkroom. If you do a complete bleach and tone then there will be no black. But by varying the amount of bleaching and maybe only bleaching 50% then you will get some blacks in the shadows and full sepia in the highlights. I know that this isn't much help but a maybe a little more info for you.