In the movie Somewhere In Time, Richard meets a woman named Elise in 1979 for the first time. Or, so he thinks. He actually met her in 1912, and there are clues throughout the movie to prove it. They are, a portrait of Elise, the 1912 Hotel Register book, and a worker at the hotel named Arthur.

First, we have Arthur who has lived at the hotel since 1910. When Richard arrives at the hotel Arthur takes his luggage to his room. While he is still there, Arthur asks Richard if they've met before. Which makes you thank that they have.

Second, there is a portrait of Elise in the Grand Hotel's Hall of History. When Richard sees it, he's immediately fascinated and mesmerized by it. He cannot stop thinking about that picture at all. Later in the movie we find out that she was looking at him when the portrait was taken.

Finally, our third clue is a hotel register book from 1912. He figures if he was really there in 1912 he will be in the book. He finds his name and is shocked. He found out that he was in room 416 and checked in at 9:18 A.M. Now there was no way for him to doubt that he was there in 1912.

In conclusion, there were many things that told him that they first met in 1912, Arthur knew that they had met before. There was the familiarity of Elise's portrait, the fact that his name was in the hotel register book. That is how he knows that he really met Elise in 1912 when she was performing at the Grand Hotel.