Labeling the unlabeled

A lot of Untiedts look alike.

Determining which similarly featured Untiedt is pictured in these archived albums is a challenge.

Plucking from his memory, my uncle, Don Untiedt, labelled what he could two years ago. The following were labelled as either Don Untiedt or his father, Paul V. Untiedt, but they also looked like they could have been Keith Untiedt.

I've stared at a lot of side-by-side compares to known images of all three possible persons: Don, Paul and Keith. One day I think I know, then the next I'm unsure. I mean, doesn't the middle above and the far right below look like the same person; oh, no I mean the far left and the bottom mid.

Using some of the best consumer photo apps didn't consistently distinguish accurately when I loaded images of known Untiedts, so it's not fully reliable for definitively labelling any archives. I also spent a lot of time comparing the slight ways the Paul CS Untiedt front porch changed over thr years

And so my Unlabelled, Unknown media folder continues to grow. I needed another strategy.

ChatGPT to the rescue

Using ChatGPT, I loaded some of these images and asked "what period are these pictures from?". I was surprised by some of the details that were picked up by ChatGPT.

• Toddlers in rompers and long stockings → early–mid 1930s
• Boys wearing overalls with long-sleeve shirts and lace-up shoes → mid-1930s
• Steeltoy brand wagon → pre-WWII pressed steel style with stripe and narrow wheels, early 1930s production
• House architecture, screen door with vertical mid-rails, wallpaper patterns → common in the 1910s– through late 1930s (much less typical for 1940s snapshots)
• Camera style and film characteristics → consistent with 1930s box cameras

Another batch loaded was grouped as early 1940s, picking up on things that were distinctly post-1943. 

• One-piece belted snowsuits → not common before WWII but extremely widespread during and after the war. 
• Tricyle → mid-1940s mass-manufactured model with more ornate fenders, different handlebar shapes, and composite elements. 
• Prints → clearer constrast, finer grain, and a slightly more modern exposure profile than pre-WWII images. 
• Sewn-on matching hood → common in the mid-1940s 
• Heavy rubber "overshoe" type children's boots → 1940s style
• Snow shovel simple loop handles → match 1940-1950 models.

As Paul was born in 1918, Keith in 1930 and Don in 1944, I was able to regroup and shuffle the images and get feedback on whether I was labelling them appropriately. 

The end result, confidently labelled batch of pictures.

---

Update: it wasn't right. I found a second picture of Keith Untiedt, which has me questioning again what was labeled. If the first one is Keith, the second one is too. Back to the unknown pile.