A creepy 19th century tradition of taking photographs. Portrait with a corpse or post-mortem photography. Book of the Dead. In general, the photographer did everything so that, as a result, the dead family member in the photo did not differ from the living ones.

Tue, 08/10/2013 - 15:37

Creepy by modern standards, the tradition was popular in the Victorian era of the 19th century. Namely, the tradition of taking photographs of recently deceased relatives, called "Memento mori", which means "remember death."

ATTENTION! This article contains photos of dead people and is not intended for viewing by persons with an unstable psyche.

Post-mortem photography is a custom of photographing recently deceased people that appeared in the 19th century with the invention of the daguerreotype. Such photographs were commonplace at the end of the century before last, and are currently the object of study and collecting.

From the history of posthumous photography.

In 1839, the first daguerreotype, invented by the Frenchman Louis-Jacques Daguerre, was printed on a smoothly polished metal plate. The Americans readily adopted it. Photographing the dead began almost at the same time as the first daguerreotypes appeared. Before this great invention, only wealthy people could afford to have posthumous portraits of their loved ones. They were painted by eminent artists, but with the advent of photography, the creation of commemorative paintings became more accessible. Despite the fidelity of image reproduction, the daguerreotype process required painstaking work. The exposure could take up to fifteen minutes to make the photo sharp. Engaged in this kind of photography, as a rule, the same photo studios that made portraits. In the early years of its existence, daguerreotypes - small photographs on polished silver - were so expensive that often a person could be photographed only once in his life, or rather, after death. In the 1850s, the popularity of the daguerreotype declined due to its replacement by a cheaper counterpart known as the ambrotype. The ambrotype was an early version of photography, made by displaying a negative on glass, behind which was a dark surface. Ferrotype was also used. Ferrotype was called positive photographs, which were taken directly on an iron plate covered with a thin sensitive layer. In the 1960s, photography became available to almost all sectors of society. There were photographs on a paper basis. With the invention of photographs in the passe-partout (eng. Carte de visite), relatives have a new opportunity - to print several photographs from one negative and send them to relatives.

It is impossible to really understand the reasons that led to the appearance of post-mortem photography without revealing in more detail the attitude of people in the first half of the 19th century to death as such. In Europe and America in the first half of the 19th century, as mentioned above, there was a very high mortality rate, especially among newborns and infants. Death was always somewhere nearby. In those days, the dying was not taken to the hospital - people, as a rule, fell ill and died at home, in the circle of their loved ones. Moreover, often during the last days, a brother or sister could share a bed with a dying child. Preparations for the burial also took place in the house of the deceased, and this was done by relatives and friends. After all the preparations, the body remained for some time in the house, so that everyone could say goodbye to the deceased. All this explains quite well the attitude of the people of the Victorian era to death. Unlike our contemporaries, they did not see something special in death, they did not shy away from it, just as they did not shy away from the actual body of the deceased. Their consciousness was focused on loss, on separation from a loved one, and not on a dead body. That is why commercial photographers of those times could offer them their unusual product - perpetuating the memory of a loved one in the form of a photographic portrait. A photograph of the deceased, with or without family, was not a reminder of death, but rather a souvenir preserving the memory of the deceased, beloved and dear to close people. Often this posthumous photograph was the only image of the deceased.

At the turn of the 18th-19th centuries, the formation of exquisite funeral and mourning traditions of Victorian England, on the one hand, and the highest infant mortality in Europe and North America, on the other, actually prepared fertile ground for creating a conceptual prototype of posthumous photography in painting. During this period, many small-sized posthumous children's portraits were created in Europe. As a rule, in these portraits the child was depicted either sitting or up to the shoulders, while the most important characteristic of this kind of work is that the child is depicted alive. From these portraits it is almost impossible to learn about the dramatic prerequisites that led to their creation. But in order to distinguish these works from the general mass of pictorial portraits, the artists introduced clearly regulated symbols into the image, clearly indicating that the depicted child is already dead: an inverted rose in the hands of a baby, a flower with a broken stem, “morning glories” flowers - a flower blooming, withering and crumbling within one day, as well as a carefully crafted and eye-catching clock, the hands of which indicate the time of death. Symbols such as the weeping willow and tombstones were also used. Sometimes, to hint at how exactly the child died, the motif of a boat was used: in calm water - an easy, calm death; storm - heavy and painful.

Most post-mortem photographs from the Victorian era show the deceased sleeping peacefully. Photographs of dead children were especially precious, because during their lifetime they were hardly taken or not taken at all. Many of them were seated and surrounded by toys to look like living children. Sometimes parents or siblings would pose with the deceased child. Many prints could be made from a single negative, so families could send the photo to other relatives. Most of them were considered more like mementoes than disturbing reminders of a recent death. The absence of portraits made during life can also serve as an additional reason for trying to “revive” the portrait of a deceased person. Because of this, close-ups or half-length portraits, both recumbent and seated, often dominated. Sometimes, when photographing a person lying down, the card was removed in such a way that it could then be unfolded in order to give the impression that the person being portrayed was sitting. Often there are works in which the person being portrayed is depicted as "sleeping". With the appropriate setting of the frame, the closed eyes of the deceased could pass for the blinking eyes of the living, which was a characteristic "side effect" of photographic portraiture in those days due to the use of slow shutter speeds. Often, eyes with an expressive look were skillfully drawn over the eyelids. After the advent of ambrotypes and tinytypes in the second half of the 19th century, many photographers began to paint faces in portraits in natural "living" colors. All this made it quite easy to erase the line between the image of a living person and a dead person. This is especially noticeable in the photographs taken in the studio, which, however, was not a frequent practice. Sometimes with the aim of giving the person being portrayed a vertical position and depicting him standing. special spacers-mounts were used, in which the body of the deceased was fixed.

Collecting posthumous photographs.

Today there are a large number of ever-growing collections of posthumous photographs of the Victorian era. Thomas Harris, a New York collector, explains his passion this way: “They (photographs) calm and make you think about the priceless gift of life.” One of the most famous collections of posthumous photography is the Burns archive. There are more than 4,000 photographs in total. Photos from this archive were used in the film "The Others". The Dying and Death collection consists of 4,000 photographs (1840-1996) representing various world cultures. It contains one of the most extensive archives of early images of dying and death, and is especially notable for its daguerreotypes. Numerous exhibitions, as well as the "Best Photo Album of 1990", the book "Sleeping Beauty: Memorial Photography in America" ​​have been compiled with this collection. New albums are currently being prepared for release. The main focus of the collection is personal, memorial photographs taken by the family of the deceased or by her order. Other sections of the collection include scenes of war deaths, executions, deaths that make it to the news blocks and are associated with violence, accidents and other examples of violent death. Limited edition prints of a number of standard images are also available.

Types of posthumous photography.

There are several subspecies of posthumous photography. In some cases, the dead were photographed "as if they were alive." They tried to put me on a chair, give a book in my hands, in some cases even my eyes were open. In the Burns collection there is a photograph of a girl taken nine days after her death. On it, she sits with an open book in her hands, and looks into the lens. If not for the inscription on the photo, it would not be easy to understand that she died. Sometimes the dead were seated on a chair, with the help of pillows they were laid, reclining, on the bed, and sometimes they were seated, draping the coffin with a cloth.

In other photographs, the deceased are depicted lying in bed. Sometimes these pictures were taken immediately after death, sometimes the deceased, already dressed for burial, was laid on the bed for farewell. There are pictures where the body rests on the bed next to the coffin.
Another, the most common type of pictures can be called "coffin". The dead are sealed in coffins or next to them. In this case, the eyes are almost always closed. The body is already dressed in burial clothes, often covered with a shroud. Attention, as a rule, is focused on the face of the deceased, and sometimes the face is difficult to see due to the angle of the photograph or flowers and wreaths covering the coffin from all sides. Sometimes the photographer tried to emphasize the luxury and decoration of the coffin and the room.
In rare cases, a closed coffin and wreaths are depicted; a lifetime photograph of the deceased is also possible, mounted in one of the wreaths.
There was a custom to photograph the deceased woman and cut off a lock of her hair. This photograph, together with the curl, was placed in a locket and worn on the chest. The pictures were taken in the house where the deceased lay, in the funeral home and in the cemetery.

Posthumous photo today.

Recently, post-mortem photography has been considered difficult to perceive. They try to avoid such pictures. The author of the article is aware of a website containing two versions of the article, one with a photograph of the deceased and one without a photograph, especially for those who are repulsed by such photographs. Today, photographing the dead is often perceived as a strange Victorian custom, but it was and remains an important, if not recognized, phenomenon in American life. It is the same kind of photography as erotica shot by married couples in middle-class homes, and despite the widespread use of this practice, the pictures rarely go beyond a narrow circle of close friends and relatives. Along with tombstones, funeral cards, and other images of death, these photographs represent the way Americans have tried to keep their shadows alive. Americans are filming
and use photographs of deceased relatives and friends, contrary to public opinion about the inappropriateness of such
pictures.
Post-mortem photography is very often practiced in modern society, many people are interested in it. Obviously, it plays an important role for criminal investigators and the entire justice system as a whole.

This collection is not for the impressionable!

At the end of the 19th century, photographing dead children became a tradition. Mothers kept cards with dead dead babies as the most precious thing they have.

When photographing young children who died in families from illnesses, very often they made them look like they were alive. They were filmed with their favorite toys and even put on chairs. The kids were dressed in the most elegant dresses and decorated with flowers.

Viewing such collections to someone else is, of course, creepy. But for relatives, these were sweet reminders to the heart. There are several explanations for why these photographs were taken. First of all, it was fashion - people just copied each other's behavior.

In addition, a personal chronicle could be kept from photographs. The photographer was invited to every significant event in a person's life - his birth, holidays, when buying a house or car, at a wedding, at the birth of his children. And the posthumous picture became the logical conclusion in this series.

But the main thing is that in this way people tried to capture the last moment of a loved one. In the XIX-XX centuries. family meant much more than today. Therefore, there were traditions to keep curls, pieces of clothes of the dead. And in the case of children, it could be their only pictures at all. Parents did not always have time to take them off during their lifetime. And so they had at least something to remember.

And, by the way, when relatives were asked about such photographs, they always remembered not the death of the deceased, not his torments, not their grief, but how he was during his lifetime. Only the good things were remembered. Today it is already difficult to understand such a way to perpetuate loved ones - after all, nowadays, when almost everyone has "soap dishes", hundreds of his cards accumulate for a person's life. So there is no need to do postmortem.

9. The photo shows a Russian family. The dead boy's eyes are painted over closed eyelids.

13. In the center is a dead teenage girl.

18. The photo shows twin girls. The one on the left is dead.

Remember Nicole Kidman's The Others, that episode where she looks at photos of the dead? This is not the director's fantasy at all. The tradition of taking postmortem photographs (postmortem), often opening the eyes of the dead and placing them in the usual poses for the living, existed for quite a long time. It was believed that it was in the posthumous photograph that the soul of the deceased would now live. Postmortems are rarely shown to outsiders, but they do exist and number in the thousands...

Horrible! Not at all. For a long time, plaster masks were removed from the dead and portraits were made. Of course, this was not available to everyone. In 1839, Louis Daguerre invented the daguerreotype, these were small photographs on polished silver. Even not very rich people could afford the daguerreotype, but only once, namely after death...

The tradition of posthumous photos developed in Victorian England, from there it spread to the United States and other countries, including Russia....

There are different types of postmortems. Most post-mortem photographs of the Victorian era show the deceased sleeping peacefully...

Photographs of dead children were especially precious to parents, because during their lifetime they were hardly taken or not taken at all. And so the parents had at least something left ...

Many of them were seated and surrounded by toys to look like living children...

Quite often brothers and sisters posed together with the dead child...

And very often parents posed ...

Many prints could be made from a single negative, so families could send the photo to other relatives.

Such photographs were considered more like keepsakes than disturbing reminders of a recent death.

Today there are a large number of ever-growing collections of posthumous photographs of the Victorian era. Thomas Harris, a New York collector, explains his passion this way. "They (photographs) calm and make you think about the priceless gift of life"...

One of the most famous collections of posthumous photography is the Burns archive. There are more than 4,000 photographs in total. Pictures from this archive were used in the film "The Others"...

Then no one was afraid of such photos, they did not repel anyone, even very young children were not afraid not only of photos, but also of the deceased relatives themselves ...

There was a custom to photograph the deceased woman and cut off a lock of her hair. This photograph, together with the curl, was placed in a locket and worn on the chest. The pictures were taken in the house where the deceased lay, in the funeral home and in the cemetery...

Recently, post-mortem photography has been considered difficult to perceive. Trying to avoid these kind of pictures...

Nowadays, photographing the dead is often perceived as a strange Victorian custom, but it was and remains an important, if not recognized phenomenon of life, and not only American ...

Along with tombstones, funeral cards and other images of death, these photographs represent the way people have tried to keep their shadows alive...

Thus, Americans take and use photographs of deceased relatives and friends, contrary to public opinion about the inappropriateness of such photographs ...

Post-mortem photography is still of interest to people, including criminal investigators ...

Especially a lot of children's photos. This is due, in particular, to the very high infant mortality in those years ...

Already in the 20-30s of the 20th century, scientists began to study the phenomenon of post-mortem photographs. Then the expression “photography is a small death” appeared. With a click of the camera, the photographer seemed to kill the moment and at the same time make it forever alive...

So the dead remained forever alive on the cards, who were filmed in their usual surroundings - reading newspapers, in their favorite chair, with friends and relatives. The brave ones even took pictures of the dead looking in the mirror. That's bold! But I haven't seen those pictures...

A series of such photographs made up the book of the dead. In the days of epidemics, entire family albums were collected in these gloomy books. For relatives, all these were sweet faces ...

When cheap photography replaced the daguerreotype, the photographer was invited to every significant event: weddings, christenings, buying a house or car, birthdays and holidays. And the posthumous picture became the logical conclusion in this series. But the main thing is that in this way people tried to capture the last moment of a loved one ...

And, by the way, when relatives were asked about such photographs, they always remembered not the death of the deceased, not his torments, not their grief, but what he was like in life. Remember only the good...

Often, postmortems appeared on tombstones...

In villages, filming has always been an event comparable in importance to a funeral. Often these two events were combined. The whole village gathered for mourning photography ...

The tradition of photographing dead children has been preserved in our country even after World War II. Posthumous photos began to disappear only in the 60s ...

Almost every family in Russia had such pictures, but then they began to destroy them, now you can hardly find them. They tore and threw away pictures with the dead because they no longer remembered these people, and family values, for example, the memory of the family, were a thing of the past ...

The external manifestation of intimacy became more significant. That is why a unique phenomenon appeared in the Soviet Union - filming a funeral. If in other countries they were limited to one or two mourning shots, then in our country they filmed the entire procession ...

Now photographs of the dead have been replaced by photographs of the grave. Until now, photographers work in cemeteries during funerals. Although this custom is gradually dying out ...

Anticipating questions, I want to say that these photos do not scare or repel me. Historians look at such things as evidence of an era. It's also very sad and a little touching...

Posthumous images of the great don’t scare you? .. I feel that I have upset, okay, I’ll cheer you up next time ...

I do not give links, because the topic is very popular, if you wish, you can find a lot of texts, pictures and videos...

Written

When it comes to the Victorian era, most people think of horse-drawn carriages, ladies' corsets, and Charles Dickens. And hardly anyone thinks about what people of that era did when they came to the funeral. It may seem shocking today, but at the time when someone was dying in the house, the first person to whom the family of the unfortunate person turned was the photographer. In our review, posthumous photographs of people who lived in the Victorian era.

In the second half of the 19th century, the Victorians developed a new tradition of taking photographs of dead people. Historians believe that at that time the services of a photographer were very expensive, and not many could afford such a luxury during their lifetime. And only death and the desire to do something meaningful for the last time, connected with a loved one, made them fork out for a photo. It is known that in the 1860s a photograph cost about $7, which today is commensurate with $200.

Another likely reason for this unusual Victorian fashion is the "cult of death" that existed in that era. The beginning of this cult was laid by Queen Victoria herself, who, after the death of her husband Prince Albert in 1861, never took off the mourning. At that time in England, after the death of someone close, women wore black for 4 years, and over the next 4 years they could only appear in white, gray or purple clothes. Men wore mourning bands on their sleeves for a whole year.

People wanted their deceased relatives to look as natural as possible, and photographers had their own methods for this. A special tripod was widely used, which was installed behind the back of the deceased and made it possible to fix him in a standing position. It is by the presence of subtle traces of this device in the photo that in some cases it is only possible to determine that the photo is a dead person.

In this photo, 18-year-old Ann Davidson, with beautifully styled hair, in a white dress, surrounded by white roses, is already dead. It is known that the girl was hit by a train, only the upper part of the body remained unharmed, which was captured by the photographer. The girl's hands are laid out as if she were picking flowers.

Very often, photographers photographed dead people with objects that were dear to them during their lifetime. Children, for example, were photographed with their toys, and the man in the photo below was photographed in the company of his dogs.

To distinguish posthumous portraits from the general mass, photographers often included symbols in the image that clearly indicated that the child was already dead: a flower with a broken stem, an upside down rose in their hands, a clock whose hands indicate the time of death.

It would seem that the strange hobby of the Victorians should have sunk into oblivion, but in fact, back in the middle of the last century, posthumous photographs were popular in the USSR, and in other countries as well. True, the dead were filmed, as a rule, lying in coffins. And about a year ago, posthumous photographs of Miriam Burbank from New Orleans appeared on the Internet. She died at the age of 53, and her daughters decided to take her to a better world, arranging a farewell party in this one - the same as she loved during her lifetime. Pictured is Miriam with a menthol cigarette, beer, and a disco ball above her head.

In 1900, the leading chocolate factory Hildebrands, along with sweets, released a series of postcards depicting. Some predictions are quite funny, while others are really reflected in our time.

In January, the horror film " Bride about one unusual family. It all starts with the fact that after the wedding, a young woman persuades her husband to take her with him to his relatives, who live in a small, almost abandoned town. She soon begins to regret her request. Vanya's family wants to hold a mysterious wedding ceremony according to their traditions, and Nastya begins to be frightened by terrible dreams and incomprehensible forebodings. An attempt to understand what is happening leads the girl to a strange find - a box with photographs of dead people. We decided to tell a little about the real origins of these pictures.

In the second half of the 19th century, more or less wealthy people had a terrible custom - to photograph the dead. This became possible with the invention of the daguerreotype: taking a photograph was cheaper than commissioning a portrait, but still expensive enough to use this novelty often. It was resorted to only in exceptional cases.

Death was quite such a case: relatives wanted to preserve the memory of the deceased. Moreover, photographers went to a variety of tricks to make it seem as if the photograph was a living person. So pictures appeared, depicting a person who was supposedly asleep or thoughtful, but in fact already dead. There were a lot of such photographs with children, since infant mortality was very high, and during life it is difficult to take a child for a daguerreotype - you need to sit still for too long.

This custom lasted in Great Britain and the USA until the end of the 19th century, and in the USSR it also occurred in the first half of the 20th century.

The dead were given casual poses Drawn eyes as if they were actually open

imgur.com

Laid down as if a child lay down to sleep

imgur.com

It seems that the girl is thinking about something

imgur.com

There were also very difficult cases, as with this girl who was run over by a train and only the upper half remained intact.

imgur.com

The dead were photographed with their favorite things

imgur.com

or pets

imgur.com

To create the illusion, there were special devices that helped to give the desired pose.

imgur.com

And sometimes in such old photographs the dead can be distinguished

imgur.com

only on insufficiently well-camouflaged brackets
imgur.com And more often than not, a person who does not suspect anything will decide that this is an image of a living person. Just wonder why it's hard to take your eyes off him

imgur.com

Found an error? Select the fragment and press Ctrl+Enter.