Death Photography - Early to Late 1900

Rattle

CDV, Massachusetts, 1870s.

Untitled Image - No information given.

Untitled Image - No Information Given - In this image it is hard to make out which figure is actually the dead one. It is in fact the woman in the middle. This is an instance in which the body is set up to appear alive once again.

Untitled Image - No Information Given - Thought this image is rare for its date (mid 1930s) like above, this image gives an almost life-like characteristic of the dead child. The eyes were painted onto the eyelids and the body was posed.

Untitled Image - No Information Given - Again, this image utilizes the fact that the subjects eyes were not closed at death. The subjects also appears to be holding a box of some sort.

Group photos were equally as popular as single portraits. The story with this image is tragic: The entire family was shot in their home and dumped into a nearby river, where officials fished the bodies out and eventually took this picture.

Untitled Image - No Information Given - cr. This is one of the earlier photographs in which the artist used oils to pigment the photograph to give a lifelike flush to the cheeks of the dead child. The eyes were also painted on.

Ossian

CDV; Olson & Oyloe photographers. Ossian, Iowa.

Egbert Smith

Premortem, CDV. The handwriting reads, "Egbert Smith, aged 1 year 1 month and fifteen days".
On the back is written, "Taken when dying. Son of Frank and Sadie (?) Smith."


Prairie Funeral

It's hard to see on this smaller scan, but the woman in the coffin's eyes are open.
Also notice the bored looking man on the wagon in the background.


Beloved Pet

Real photo postcard. Germany, ca. 1915


Matching Dresses

Sixth plate daguerreotype. ca 1850.


Wintrode

Uncommon shot of a baby in a coffin in a studio setting. Carte de visite.


Rocking Chair

Quarter plate ambrotype, ca 1850's.



Harry

Carte de visite, Scranton, PA.
The handwritten text on the back says, "Harry Courtright after he was dressed for his coffen".
Beneath that is also written, "With some of his hair".


Minnesota

Minnesota, 1905. The marks on the boy's face are fluid seepage, not defects on the photo.



Eliza Aughe

Eliza L. Aughe. Died, April 1885. Cabinet card. Frankfurt, Indiana.




Lightness

Sixth plate daguerreotype. Handwritten on the inside of the case is the word "Lightness".



Portsmouth

CDV. Portsmouth, New Hampshire, circa 1870.

The most fascinating things about postmortem photography are the ideas and reasons behind these kinds of photographs.
For some images, the subjects were posed using lifts and often coat hanger type mechanisms to keep the body from slumping forward or back. In other instances, depending on whether or not the subjects eyes were open or closed at death, either the eyes would be kept open, or they would be painted onto their eyelids, to give the body "life".
Artists were also given the job to tint the images with colored oils, giving the cheeks a pink flush to also reinforce a lifelike presence to them.