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The Morbidly Fascinating Page

On this month's Morbidly Fascinating Page

Victorian Post-Mortem Photography: these photographers try to make the dead look alive

IN THE ARCHIVES:

Early Ghost Photography
Paget’s Disease
Death Scenes
Puente House
X-Rays
Freaky Photoshop
Heavenly Bodies

All the subjects in the photos below are dead...if there are more than one subject in the photos, then one of them is dead. The photographers posed them to look alive, some quite successfully; others not so much.

Some of the dead are propped up by a hidden "standing device" so they appear to be standing. Others are being held up by someone hiding behind a blanket.

For some of the dead, the photographers either painted in eyes or painted rosy cheeks.

AN EXAMPLE OF HOW THEY DID IT (notice the propping device)

how it's done

PAINTED ROSY CHEEKS AND/OR PAINTED OPEN EYES

These two have both painted cheeks and painted eyes

cheeks

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These two have painted cheeks only

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This one has painted eyes only...notice the difference in her eyes compared to the other two in this photo

eyes

Another one with painted eyes

eyes

This one is claimed to have painted open eyes...you can tell by the left eye, but it's a good job and I would not have known

eyes

THE DEAD PROPPED INTO A SITTING POSITION

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10

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This girl has been positioned sideways on the chair to hide the propping device

girl

PROPPED INTO A STANDING POSITION BY A HIDDEN SUPPORT DEVICE

In these two, you can see both the device (at the feet) and the person behind the blanket

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In this one, the photographer was so good at his/her job, that I honestly cannot tell which one of these women is dead...you decide

cannot tell

I don't know if I believe this undertaker's claim of two years

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In this one, the cause of death is obvious...Siamese Twins

twins

 

 

See other post mortem photography pages HERE and HERE

Learn about Victorian Post Mortem photography HERE

About Victorian Post Mortem photography:

Postmortem photography or memento mori, the photographing of a deceased person, was a common practice in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The photographs were considered a keepsake to remember the dead.

Child mortality was high during the Victorian era. For many children even a common sickness could be fatal. When a child or other family member died, families would often have a photograph taken before burial. Many times it was the first and last photograph they would ever possess of their loved one.

Many postmortem photographs were close-ups of the face or shots of the full body. The deceased were usually depicted to appear as if they were in a deep sleep, or else arranged to appear more life-like. Children were often shown on a couch or in a crib, often posed with a favorite toy. It was not uncommon to photograph very young children with a family member, most frequently the mother. Adults were commonly posed in chairs or even propped up on something.

See the article HERE

girl

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