Photo found in antique shop Titanic passenger

[Richard Paola]

i recently found an original photo in an antique shop who i believe to be that of 2nd class passenger Dr. Alfred Pain...i'm going strictly on appearances, so take with a grain of salt...not only is the resemblance striking, but it appears to be a graduation photo, perhaps from medical school in Toronto...if anyone can help identify, i can either post it, or send privately.

 

[Jason D. Tiller]

Hi Richard,

I'll try and identify the photo for you. If you would like to post it, that will be fine.

Best regards,

Jason

 

[Kritina Johnston]

Just doing a comparison between this photo and the one here on ET...I think this might just be him. The nose looks similar, there's the same kind of look in the eyes, and the eyes are shaped about the same. I'm not too sure on the ears, though...if someone can do a Photoshop side-by-side on that, then we might be able to tell more.

But so far, I think we have a winner.

 

[Jason D. Tiller]

Comparing the photo in Alan Hustak's "Titanic: The Canadian Story" and this photo, I agree with Kritina. The facial features are definitely the same.

Great find Richard and thank you for sharing it, but would you please re-post it in a smaller version as it is over the limit a fair bit.

Thanks.

 

[Richard Paola]

Thanks for your thoughts on my find...i received a message from Donald Smith, who also believes the photo is in fact him...the most convincing part is the smile and eyes, though i agree with Kritina, the ears may be questionable, although that may be due to the angle of the picture..the photo is mounted in a larger brown folder with a protective china paper, all appears original ... how it ended up in that antique shop, i'll never know. I believe some Pain descendants still live in the Hamilton area.
ps. Jason, i tried to re-post smaller, but it is past the time limit.

 

[Jason D. Tiller]

Richard,

Yes, I forgot to mention the ears, but that could just be the angle from where the picture was taken as you pointed out. I wouldn't be surprised if some of Pain's relatives still live in and around Hamilton. It would be very interesting to find out. I'm not far from there and I sometimes visit that area.

If you would please re-post the photo in a new post, that would be great.

 

[Tim Brandsoy]

Here's my attempt at detective work:
hometown.aol.com/timbrands/Pain.html

 

[Richard Paola]

Impressive work Tim....another thing to keep in mind: the photo i found may have been taken at a younger age, so there may be subtle differences, eg. hair, etc...i don't know, it's turning into a bit of a mystery.

 

[Tim Brandsoy]

Mystery indeed! After looking at the other graduation photo in Alan Hustak's "TITANIC The Canadian Story" I'm more confused than ever.

If all the are photos of the same person, Alf was only 23 (ET) or 24 (Hustak) when he died on Titanic in 1912, both graduation photos should be around 1910. He shouldn't have changed a great deal in two years.

The ET b/w looks to be a heavily retouched (newspaper?) version of the Hustak photo, the sash is evident in the lower left.

Also note the different collars in both of the graduation photos.

From the ET bio, his cousin said:
"On the way we decided to have our photos taken and so went into the shop and had them taken. The man said they would be ready in about an hour, so we went and sent the cable off and then came back to see the photos. We were so pleased with them that we had another taken. But we did not wait to see it."

I wonder what happened to those photos! One-Hour Photos in 1912....amazing.

Alf had a brother Albert. One of the photos could be of him....errr maybe.

 

[Jason D. Tiller]

Excellent work there, Timothy. I must say, I had difficulty with the forehead as well. You may be right regarding the photo in his bio and the photo in Hustak's book. Although, Alfred's head seems to be turned to the right just a bit and his left eyelid looks to be down in the photo from Hustak's book, but those things are hardly noticeable.

It's definitely a mystery.

 

[Tim Brandsoy]

Perhaps the sepia tint is a Bachelor's graduation portrait and the B/W is is his Doctorate portrait? He does look a wee bit little younger in that photo and I associate sepia with late 1800s photography. Of course sepia was done later and still is for a Victorian effect.

 

[Jason D. Tiller]

"Perhaps the sepia tint is a Bachelor's graduation portrait and the B/W is is his Doctorate portrait?"

Yes, it's quite possible. I wouldn't rule it out.

 

[Richard Paola]

i would date the photo probably around 1909, and i would agree with you Tim, it could have been a Bachelor's graduation photo...not sure how long and at what age university was attended in those days...but given that Dr. Pain was already a doctor by age 24, it seems quite young compared to today.
Richard