Saturday, 12 October 2013

Victorian photographs show relatives posing alongside dead bodies


  • The invention of the daguerreotype – the earliest photographic process – in 1839 brought portraiture to the masses

  • Enabled the middle classes to have affordable keepsake of their dead family members

  • Known as post-mortem photography, some of the dearly departed were photographed in their coffin

  • This particular style, often accompanied by funeral attendees, was common in Europe, but less so in the United States


By

Jill Reilly




PUBLISHED:


11:50, 9 October 2013




|

UPDATED:


13:17, 9 October 2013



Lined up for a family photo these Victorian children look miserable as they stare sternly at the camera.


But their grim expressions may be understandable after it becomes clear they are posing for a macabre photo with their dead younger sibling who is laid out on a chair.


These remarkable pictures show the morbid way that the deceased were remembered in the late 19th century


Victorian Post Mortem Tintypes The deceased were immortalized in photographs during the Victorian era. Victorian After-Death Photos Still Haunt


Macabre: Lined up for a family photo these Victorian children look miserable as they look sternly at the camera. But their grim expressions may be understandable after it becomes clear they are posing for a macabre photo with their dead sibling who is laid out on a chair



Victorian Post Mortem Tintypes The deceased were immortalized in photographs during the Victorian era. Victorian After-Death Phot


Macabre: These remarkable pictures show the morbid way that the deceased were remembered in the late 19th century



Victorian Post Mortem Tintypes The deceased were immortalized in photographs during the Victorian era. Victorian After-Death Photos Still Haunt


Victorian Post Mortem Tintypes The deceased were immortalized in photographs during the Victorian era. Victorian After-Death Photos Still Haunt


Keepsake: The invention of the daguerreotype – the earliest photographic process – in 1839 brought portraiture to the masses. It was far cheaper and quicker than commissioning a painted portrait and it enabled the middle classes to have an affordable, cherished keepsake of their dead family members



Memory: The invention of the daguerreotype - the earliest photographic process - in 1839 brought portraiture to the masses


Memory: A young girl is displayed in a tiny coffin before her funeral in this grim photo



The invention of the daguerreotype – the earliest photographic process – in 1839 brought portraiture to the masses.


It

was far cheaper and quicker than commissioning a painted portrait and

it enabled the middle classes to have an affordable, cherished keepsake

of their dead family members.  


Known as post-mortem photography, some of the dearly departed were photographed in their coffin.


This particular style, often accompanied by funeral attendees, was common in Europe but less so in the United States.


Victorian Post Mortem Tintypes The deceased were immortalized in photographs during the Victorian era. Victorian After-Death Photos Still Haunt


Laid out: Known as post-mortem photography, some of the dearly departed were photographed in their coffins, while others were laid out in funeral dressage



Victorian Post Mortem Tintypes The deceased were immortalized in photographs during the Victorian era. Victorian After-Death Photos Still Haunt


Victorian Post


Trend: Post-mortem photography, often accompanied by funeral attendees, was common in Europe but less so in the United States



Victorian Post Mortem Tintypes The deceased were immortalized in photographs during the Victorian era. Victorian After-Death Photos Still Haunt


Victorian Post Mortem Tintypes: The deceased were immortalized in photographs during the Victorian era.

The Victorian after-death photos continue to haunt



v


Victorian Post Mortem Tintypes The deceased were immortalized in photographs during the Victorian era. Victorian After-Death Photos Still Haunt


In some photos the subjects were made to look like they were in a deep sleep or even life-like as they were positioned next to family members



However,

in others, they were made to look like they were in a deep sleep or

even life-like as they were positioned next to family members.


It

was an age of high infant mortality rates – and children were often

shown in repose on a couch or in a crib, while adults were more commonly

posed in chairs.



Sometimes the subject’s eyes were propped open or the pupils were painted onto the print to give the effect they were alive.


In early images, a rosy tint was added to the cheeks of corpses.


By the early 20th century, the practice fell out of fashion as photos became more commonplace with the arrival of the snapshot.


Victorian Post Mortem Tintypes The deceased were immortalized in photographs during the Victorian era. Victorian After-Death Photos Still Haunt


Tragic: It was an age of high infant mortality rates – and children were often shown in repose on a couch or in a crib, while adults were more commonly posed in chairs



Victorian Post Mortem Tintypes The deceased were immortalized in photographs during the Victorian era. Victorian After-Death Photos Still Haunt


Victorian Post Mortem Tintypes The deceased were immortalized in photographs during the Victorian era. Victorian After-Death Photos Still Haunt


Eerie: Sometimes the subject’s eyes were propped open or the pupils were painted onto the print to give the effect they were alive



Victorian Post Mortem Tintypes The deceased were immortalized in photographs during the Victorian era. Victorian After-Death Photos Still Haunt


Remembrance: A young child surrounded by flowers is photographed in an open coffin as a keepsake for its family



Victorian Post Mortem Tintypes The deceased were immortalized in photographs during the Victorian era. Victorian After-Death Photos Still Haunt


Victorian Post Mortem Tintypes The deceased were immortalized in photographs during the Victorian era. Victorian After-Death Photos Still Haunt


Effects: In early images, a rosy tint was added to the cheeks of corpses


Victorian P


Portrait: Parents pose for a photo holding the body of their little girl clothed in a white dress


Disturbing: An adult male is photographed as if he is asleep on a bed


Disturbing: An adult male is photographed as if he is asleep on a bed



dfdfd Write caption here


Sign of the times: By the early 20th century, the practice fell out of fashion as photos became more commonplace with the arrival of the snapshot











Comments (589)


Share what you think



The comments below have been moderated in advance.





nick,


la richardais,


2 days ago


bless





CEB,


Carnforth- Lancs., United Kingdom,


2 days ago


I think these pictures are very moving. When a family or close friend die and you view them in their coffin it is the most sad and heartwrenching encounter i think you can experience. You just cannot comprehend that they are physically no longer alive. People do look as though they are just sleeping and you walk away full of sad emotion wondering where they have gone to. But, as we all, one day will be in a coffin on our final journey from this life the experience of seeing someone laid to rest is a sad but humbling one!

,





paul,


gillingham,


2 days ago


I don’t find it macabre, we photograph people at birth,christenings,birthdays,weddings etc so why not at death? So long as people keep the photo private and don’t stick it on Facebook I don’t see the problem.





fj9fl,


leicester,


2 days ago


emotive,particularly the babies.





Damn_Sam_79,


Gibraltar, Gibraltar,


2 days ago


heartbreaking images 10 18





dorothyea,


sunderland,


2 days ago


The only thing morbid here is the DM,





herbertsherbert2,


utopia,


2 days ago


What’s morbid about people wanting to remember their relatives in this way, people die it’s a well known fact we all do, morbid is when you are obsessed with death.





paulvincent,


belfast,


2 days ago


And now we have twitter!!





SF,


KL, Malaysia,


2 days ago


I remember reading that photos were so expensive back then they could only afford to take one and that was when a family member died, for keepsake. It is morbid but in a sense a necessary morbid, But I do admit the photos with their eyes opened are very very creepy.





Hello there,


Balamory, United Kingdom,


2 days ago


Not all of the look dead (although they are), so look like they are just sleeping and one even looks awake as they are in a sitting position with their eyes open.


I think this was probably done by families who hadn’t had the chance to have their loved one photographed yet before they died and this was their last chance to get a picture of them to remember them by.


People didn’t just get their photo taken willy nilly back then like they do today and very few people would have owned a camera…



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