Post-Mortem Photography

I have this total fascination for Post-Mortem photography. It's weird, spooky, gross but at the same time beautiful and intriguing. It's such a nice trace of history.


These photographs served less as a reminder of mortality than as a keepsake to remember the deceased. This was especially common with infants and young children; Victorian era childhood mortality rates were extremely high, and a post-mortem photograph might be the only image of the child the family ever had.
The practice eventually peaked in popularity around the end of the 19th century and died out as "snapshot" photography became more commonplace, although a few examples of formal memorial portraits were still being produced well into the 20th century.

The earliest post-mortem photographs are usually close-ups of the face or shots of the full body and rarely include the coffin. The subject is usually depicted so as to seem in a deep sleep, or else arranged to appear more lifelike.

(It's the girl on the right. Look at her hands and how her arm rests on -probably- her sister's arm. There's definately a frame behind her, as often is the case when the dead people are 'standing'.)



Children were often shown in repose on a couch or in a crib, sometimes posed with a favorite toy or other plaything. It was not uncommon to photograph very young children with a family member, most frequently the mother.





(Look at the poor brothers faces)




Adults were more commonly posed in chairs or even braced on specially-designed frames. Flowers were also a common prop in post-mortem photography of all types.





The effect of life was sometimes enhanced by either propping the subject's eyes open or painting pupils onto the photographic print, and many early images (especially tintypes and ambrotypes) have a rosy tint added to the cheeks of the corpse:






I always try to find the 'prove' of death on the pics. Sometimes it's not that difficult ofcourse. But what I mean is I try to discover the way the dead person is possible to sit or stand up. Search for the braces. Or see how a family member is tightly holding the body. It gives me goosebumps. But: It really is interesting.

(Thank you wikipedia. I couldn't have done it better)