I am looking to create a photo quiz in the People category but the guidelines say “the images can not contain recognizable persons”. Are there any exceptions to this rule as surely players want to see the images of people in the People category?

I can understand why photos of living people, especially children, are not permitted, but the image I would like to use is dated 1908, both people have been dead nearly forty years, the photo is in the public domain and there are no restrictions I that I can see.

Any guidance would be appreciated.

I suggest you send a link to the image you have in mind so we can consider it specifically. Pictures of paintings and statues, and other works of art including postage stamps, can include recognisable people, because the production of the artwork is implicit relinquishment of the right of privacy.

The fact that a photo is in the public domain means that the person who took it is not claiming copyright on it, not that the subject of the photo has necessarily given up their rights.

I recently contacted an editor asking about using selfies in a quiz I am compiling about digital photography; the reasons given for not allowing their use were perfectly reasonable after giving it some thought.

I think that the thing with photo quizzes is that they are really only suitable for use with inanimate subjects. Maybe you could still write your quiz about people but use such things that they were closely associated with as picture clues or, if you wished to make it more difficult, try combining this with some pictorial word-play?

That would be the way that I would proceed...

Animals also work well.