Arranging a Family Photobook

For the Grandchildren

Now in the second half of the year thoughts turn to approaching birthdays and that inevitable end of the year Christmas celebration. What presents will I find? What can I hope will endure and not be lost in later years?

With this in mind I am preparing a photobook based on my husband's line to give to our children for them to share with their children. I want to use a variety of photos I have going back as far as their three times gt. grandparents. 

The only photo I have of  John Patrick Galvin, their 2 x gt grandfather is this rather grainy photo from a newspaper. It is dated October 1927 when he was 59 years old. I don't think this photo would have much appeal to four young boys.

John Patrick Galvin (1)

In order to clean it up I gave an extensive prompt to ChatGPT.  This prompt appeared in a Facebook group but the original author of it was unknown. 

Restore this vintage newspaper photo by removing visible halftone dots, scratches, and discoloration. Enhance facial features and fine details while preserving the original style and texture. Improve clarity, contrast, and definition without over-sharpening. If black and white, keep tonal balance natural; if faded color, revive tones subtly. Maintain authenticity while making the image clean and presentable. It shouldn't look like a digital rendition, but like a touched-up vintage photo.

I then uploaded the photo.

The first iteration was good but not suitable, the face is too wide

AI cleaned image by ChatGPT

I then added "His face should be slightly longer and thinner"

AI cleaned image by ChatGPT

This is a better rendition, better than I would be able to do in photo restoration software but not a true photo of J P Galvin.

I will add the newspaper version to the photobook and next to it the AI rendition labelling it carefully so that future generations know that this is not actually a picture of him but it is how he might have looked in 1927. 

What a pity the original photo did not survive as John Patrick Galvin himself was a photographer. I wonder what he would think of this?

1. 1927 'H.A.C.B.S.', Southern Cross (Adelaide, SA : 1889 - 1954), 14 October, p. 11. ,  http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article167804044

This post first appeared on earlieryears.blogspot.com by CRGalvin

Breaking the fast from the wagon

One Sunday Morning

Picture the scene in 1914/1915 about the time this photo was taken. 

After an early start and a bumpy ride across dusty dirt roads accompanied by the steady clip clop of the horses hooves, arrival at a small stone church provided a welcome reprieve. This trip was made each Sunday morning come rain, hail or shine. The cool candle-lit interior of the church was an oasis of calm.  The weather may have been kind on this day as long shadows show. Rainy wet winter weather was not so forgiving for this weekly trip.

The Horgan family shown here were devout Catholics and in order to partake of Communion at weekly Mass on a Sunday morning, the adults would have fasted from midnight on Saturday. After the service, which could last for up to an hour, a welcome cup of tea was served from the back of the wagon most likely with some food to break their fast. It was an opportunity for the two families, one from the farm south of Tarlee and the other from the farm at Alma, to catch up with their kinsfolk.

The youngest boy with his back to us is my uncle Joe, Joseph Andrew Horgan born in April of 1910. He was a man of very small stature so while he may not look like 4 or 5-year-old he does appear to be wearing breeches.

The young boy whose face we see is my father Edward John Horgan born in May of 1908. He is sandwiched between his grandmother, Hanora Horgan and his father Andrew. Andrew, along with his wife Elizabeth and children Hanora Mary (known as Mary), Edward known as Eddie, and Joseph known as Joe, lived at Alma on the farm bequeathed to Elizabeth in her father's will.

Hanora (Hanorah) Horgan lived with her four unmarried adult children on the farm at Linwood.

Behind Hanora we can see the sleeve of another person's dress, possibly Elizabeth standing slightly behind her son.

Inscription on the back of the photo, in the handwriting of Joe Horgan

Sunday Mass was an important event in the lives of the farming families, not just from the religious point of view but it also provided the opportunity to catch up with families, friends and relatives. Each Sunday these families made their way to either the Catholic church at Hamley Bridge or Sts John and Paul Catholic church at Tarlee. 

This very faded photo has been enhanced and colorised using the MyHeritage photo tools.

This post first appeared on earlieryears.blogspot.com by CRGalvin