Comments on Shades Of The Departed: I Still Think She's Dead - And Here's Why

Most of the links have...expired. This one, howev...

2009-11-15T00:36:13.206-08:00

Most of the links have...expired.

This one, however, is still...alive:
http://brightbytes.com/collection/images/on_bed.jpg
As you see, her eyes are indeed painted onto her eyelids.

I already knew about the braces and brackets they used for positioning, but wasn't aware that the bodies traveled PM to photog studios. Ah, well. Having a photog into the mortician's makes sense, but then so many people didn't necessarily use the services of one.

What did that 9-day old PM photo look like? In the coffin - from a great distance? Surely nobody attempted to position that body in any naturalistic manner, unless it had been kept in an ice-house.

I'll have to direct you to a photo I've wondered about for some time now - an extremely thin infant propped upright onto the very peak of a pile of bearskin. Her straight last shoes look odd all by themselves and add to the weirdness. This child appears to be alive, but it's the most frightening baby portrait I've ever seen!

interesting article, but almost all links to pictu...

2009-06-28T02:47:22.315-07:00

interesting article, but almost all links to pictures are dead by now. you shouldn't link directly to them (especially to ebay auctions), but upload those pictures either to your blog directly or a photo upload service to ensure that they stay available for more than just a month

Does anyone own a copy of Sleeping Beauty: Memoria...

2008-08-12T19:48:00.000-07:00

Does anyone own a copy of Sleeping Beauty: Memorial Photography in America? I would like any info on the photo of the child lying on a black cloth on a mirror. Thanks.

"... Although Van Der Zee photographed many of the...

2008-06-20T09:36:00.000-07:00

"... Although Van Der Zee photographed many of the African American celebrities who passed through Harlem, most of his work was of the straightforward commercial studio variety - weddings and funerals (including pictures of the dead for grieving families),..." http://www.biography.com/search/article.do?id=9515411

Wow,and I thought Van Der Zee (1886 - 1983) was a lone eccentric in this particular endeavor.
I'm learning so much from 'Shades'!

Peace,
"Guided by the Ancestors"

I am truely fasinated at this subject! I have seen...

2008-06-19T11:50:00.000-07:00

I am truely fasinated at this subject! I have seen several casket photo's and always found it odd that people would want photo's of the dead but in doing genealogy I have learned the many reasons why this was done, I will admit not EVER have I heard of or seen (or to my knowledge realized) a dead person sitting or standing..... so I am going to dig thru all of the very old photo's I have copies of and see if I suspect this to be the case in the photo's. This has been a very interesting topic, which has propted me to have more work of my own....LOL!

Dawn aka mamamoni

Thank you for the link...And apologies for not sen...

2008-06-13T12:01:00.000-07:00

Thank you for the link...And apologies for not sending you a direct link to the Eagle ad - I was about to rush off somewhere and was trying to type the info off a notecard while being called urgently!

Wow! Well done ShadyMaven. Dead people standing? W...

2008-06-12T20:23:00.000-07:00

Wow! Well done ShadyMaven. Dead people standing? Who would have guessed? Morbidly fascinating.

Denise, I too have though of the meaning or iconog...

2008-06-12T16:31:00.000-07:00

Denise, I too have though of the meaning or iconography of the medicines in the background. Some thoughts:

- is it a commentary on the fact that even in the modern world and with advances with medicine, children die?

- are the parents trying to communicate to the viewers that "we tried everything we could"?

- could the father have been a physician? (Note - I'm not trying to be sexist here but since the photo is a daguerrotype from the 1850s/1860s, females weren't even allowed into medical schools until the late 19th century)

Thoughts?

I was just going through my files, and found this ...

2008-06-12T11:38:00.000-07:00

I was just going through my files, and found this from the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Sept. 8, 1847, p. 2 - ad for a J.B. Leathers, "Daguerreotype Artist" who takes "Likenesses of invalids, or deceased persons, taken at residences."

I wonder if the medicines next to the grieving mot...

2008-06-12T09:38:00.000-07:00

I wonder if the medicines next to the grieving mother might be for her own use -- maybe smelling salts or something to soothe her emotions?

Thank you for the wonderful research and helpful examples.

Brilliant deduction, Watson, er, I mean ShadyMaven...

2008-06-12T08:01:00.000-07:00

Brilliant deduction, Watson, er, I mean ShadyMaven. What an appropriate subject for a blog with the title "Shade of the Departed." Little do most people know just how popular post-mortem photography was in the past, because, as you mentioned, photography was a new genre and it compelled people to take advantage of it. I'm sure that many post-mortem photos went into the waste bin after being inherited by unsentimental (and spooked) family members.

I am always amazed with your research skills, and I have to agree that the subject in question appears dead. If photographers could manage taking standing photographs of the deceased (really weird to see), they could certainly manage sitting them in a chair.

This is absolutely fascinating - I have been await...

2008-06-12T06:57:00.000-07:00

This is absolutely fascinating - I have been awaiting the update since last week!

Some of the photos remind me of the ones taken of a lady called the "Brooklyn Enigma" (about whom I intend to write) who was an invalid for about 40 years (late 19th century). She was often photographed in bed in a sort of trance state. She was said to be psychic and had multiple-personality issues too. I own her biography, which has the photos.

MAVEN, You are a hoot.

And this is absolute...

2008-06-12T06:54:00.000-07:00

MAVEN, You are a hoot.

And this is absolutely wonderfully researched, written, and presented. I followed all your links --- each one of them --- I HAD TO LOOK. This is a subject I've never read about --- thanks for the education.

Yes, I've changed my mind about your "I Think She is Dead" lady. She was.
TERRY

Judy:

I'm so glad you found me. It takes on...

2008-06-11T22:02:00.000-07:00

Judy:

I'm so glad you found me. It takes one to know one, and I'm also glad you love Shades.

My personal family history blog is footnoteMaven, and there are many family photographs there as well.

Hope to see you often!

fM

Ruth:

Fascinating like a train wreck. You j...

2008-06-11T21:56:00.000-07:00

Ruth:

Fascinating like a train wreck. You just have to look. I so know what you mean.

I think we'd all like to think of her as blind.

fM

Jasia:

Please tell your husband that this i...

2008-06-11T21:54:00.000-07:00

Jasia:

Please tell your husband that this is the second time I've been called a "hoot" this week. At least he didn't say "old coot."

After a little wine, I'm rather good at parties.

And Jasia, I do know what you mean.

fM

I love your blog! I am a huge fan of old photograp...

2008-06-11T20:39:00.000-07:00

I love your blog! I am a huge fan of old photographs as well and I have so many of family members that I've scanned and have on CDs. I love the "mystery" of them as you said and love to give copies of them to family members for special occasions. I am anxious to make time to really read all your posts and can't wait to look at the Friday's digital scrapbooking segment. I am so glad I found you through iPentimento.

I find this whole subject absolutely bizarre, yet ...

2008-06-11T17:10:00.000-07:00

I find this whole subject absolutely bizarre, yet (even moreso!) absolutely fascinating! I showed the "I think she's dead" picture to my daughter, who has no interest whatsoever in genealogy or old photos, and her comment was also, "Maybe she's blind." Who knows?

Ruth Stephens

My husband just popped into my office as I was rea...

2008-06-11T16:26:00.000-07:00

My husband just popped into my office as I was reading this post. He asked what I was reading and when I told him what the post was about and who wrote it he walked out of the room shaking his head saying, "She must be a hoot at parties."

I have a few postmortem photos in my meager collection, including one I took myself of my mother in her casket.

The only picture I have of my paternal great grandmother is a postmortem one. It's not a photo I enjoy looking at but I treasure it for just the reason you mentioned... it's the only one I have of her.

It's funny how times change. I looked at those pho...

2008-06-11T15:11:00.000-07:00

It's funny how times change. I looked at those photos, but I don't think I could look at the photo of a loved one taken when deceased.

A very interesting article :)

Thomas:

Good eye! Many early photographers ...

2008-06-11T15:07:00.000-07:00

Thomas:

Good eye! Many early photographers imitated the styles of the Old Masters.

I believe that the bottles were left in the photograph as a clue. Were I familiar with the medical practices of the time I might know what that clue is.

fM

Wow - what a revealing wealth of information! I a...

2008-06-11T14:49:00.000-07:00

Wow - what a revealing wealth of information! I am still processing this and had no idea as to the many types of post mortem photos. The one with the child and the parents and the medicines in the background reminds me of many Renaissance paintings or even Victorian "memento mori" type needlework where clues were often left in the foreground or background, many times symbolic, which explained how the person died.