Post mortem photography-what was trending a long time ago.

S

steve001

Member
Most members on this forum are interested in death, but avoid generally talking about it directly. This is how folks of the later part of the 19th-early 20th centuries confronted its harsh reality. Photographers did their best to make some of the clients look as lifelike as possible. Enjoy.
1414490171-1.jpg
aa20.jpg
desktop-1414521955.jpg
 
Brian_the_bard said:
They "confronted its (Death's) harsh reality" by "making them look lifelike"???
Click to expand...
These are but a few photos. All you need do to see that they did portray the dead as close to life like as practical in these photos is look at more photos. I have to add, not all post mortem photos do this. Even today embalmers apply makeup and inject red tinted embalming fluid into the dead if there is an open casket viewing, at least in the USA.
 
steve001 said:
These are but a few photos. All you need do to see that they did portray the dead as close to life like as practical in these photos is look at more photos. I have to add, not all post mortem photos do this. Even today embalmers apply makeup and inject red tinted embalming fluid into the dead if there is an open casket viewing, at least in the USA.
Click to expand...
The UK too. I had never made that connection before and thought that the Victorians were a bit morbid.
 
Brian_the_bard said:
The UK too. I had never made that connection before and thought that the Victorians were a bit morbid.
Click to expand...
Morbid by todays sensibilities. You've inadvertently brought up a oft asked and contested question, it goes something like this: Is morality..., arbitrary?

P.S. Speaking of morbid. When looking at these photos I wonder if purge was a problem and if it was how was it delt with?
 
It may be worth remembering that photography was in its infancy and extremely expensive when this was in vogue. At someone's passing there may well not have been any other pictorial record of them. This would have been very much a 'special occasion' photo.

Also I've read that because people had to keep very still during portraits (due to very long exposure times) some people look a bit 'stiff' and odd, but not necessarily dead. (Not saying the photos above, but more generally)
 
steve001 said:
Morbid by todays sensibilities. You've inadvertently brought up a oft asked and contested question, it goes something like this: Is morality..., arbitrary?
Click to expand...
I wasn't thinking in terms of morality, just taste. I think some morality however, has to be consensual - ie. that which relates to how our behaviour affects others. An interesting branch of psychology is transactional analysis wherein the mind is modelled as Parent, Adult and Child and "morality" that serves no purpose is unchallenged beliefs from the "Parent." It's an interesting subject to explore.

malf said:
It may be worth remembering that photography was in its infancy and extremely expensive when this was in vogue. At someone's passing there may well not have been any other pictorial record of them. This would have been very much a 'special occasion' photo.
Click to expand...
This is very probably why they did it.
 
Funny, I have a whole book of those kinds of photos. I found them fascinating, and in a way, beautiful, especially some shots. Why would you think those of us on the forum are averse to thinking or looking at death?? Come on, steve001, just because we discuss whether the afterlife exists or not doesn't mean we are scared of death. Very dishonest of you, IMO.

BTW, I had a friend who found my book of those kinds of photos, and she was weirded out and thought it was morbid. I had a hard time explaining it to her. Alas, she didn't didn't want to be friends with me anymore!

This also reminds me of that X-Files episode Tithonus. I really liked that episode, but I guess a lot of people didn't.
 
The ECT and lobotomy of "rational" scientists were still in vogue decades after this fad had died. People, even brilliant ones, do stupid things. Shall we use them as measuring stick for anything?
 
Doppelgänger said:
Funny, I have a whole book of those kinds of photos. I found them fascinating, and in a way, beautiful, especially some shots. Why would you think those of us on the forum are averse to thinking or looking at death?? Come on, steve001, just because we discuss whether the afterlife exists or not doesn't mean we are scared of death. Very dishonest of you, IMO.
Click to expand...
I think you overstated what this thread is about. Go back and read the first sentence of this thread.

I wonder. Have you written out your will? Have you talked with your spouse or close friend, relative if you want to be resusitated? Do you have a life insurance policy if you think you need one? Have you talked... what you want done with your body after death? If you've done these things then you are ahead of the curve. If not then you are like a lot of people whom avoid talking about death until circumstances force them.
 
Last edited:
steve001 said:
Love a good joke.
Click to expand...

Not a joke. You obviously missed it before you decided to insult the proponents on this forum, but many people have talked about dealing with the deaths of loved ones - even watching them waste away.

I think your banal trolling has crossed the line this time, quite frankly.
 
steve001 said:
Most members on this forum are interested in death, but avoid generally talking about it directly. This is how folks of the later part of the 19th-early 20th centuries confronted its harsh reality. Photographers did their best to make some of the clients look as lifelike as possible. Enjoy.
1414490171-1.jpg
aa20.jpg
desktop-1414521955.jpg
Click to expand...

I'm skeptical these people were actually dead...?
 
Sciborg_S_Patel said:
Not a joke. You obviously missed it before you decided to insult the proponents on this forum, but many people have talked about dealing with the deaths of loved ones - even watching them waste away.
Click to expand...
My apologies for missing those few threads. You live in the states; I think and you know we avoid talking about it. As a point of casual conversation I don't recall anyone starting a thread on it.
 
Last edited:
steve001 said:
I think you overstated what this thread is about. Go back and read the first sentence of this thread.

I wonder. Have you written out your will? Have you talked with your spouse or close friend, relative if you want to be resusitated? Do you have a life insurance policy if you think you need one? Have you talked... what you want done with your body after death? If you've done these things then you are ahead of the curve. If not then you are like a lot of people whom avoid talking about death until circumstances force them.
Click to expand...

What a load of quite personal questions.

I have talked with my spouse about many of those things, but my will and insurance policies aren't really your business. I am also dealing with my father dying of cancer, and my young nephew died a tragic death just a few years ago.

I guess I don't know what you are trying to say with "most on this forum...avoid generally talking about [death] directly." You can't see how this sounds like a potshot at proponents on the forum?

Are you trying to talk about how Western culture deals with death? If so, since that is worth talking about, you should state that instead of coming off as trying to needle forum members.

I get it, I remember that you lost your beloved wife not that long ago, and I am truly sorry about that and I've expressed my condolences. If you want to talk about issues surrounding death and how we deal with it as a culture, you might want to phrase it better in order to not receive hostile responses. Or better yet, start a thread about that issue, because I do think it is important.

All the best to you, steve.
 
Doppelgänger said:
I get it, I remember that you lost your beloved wife not that long ago, and I am truly sorry about that and I've expressed my condolences. If you want to talk about issues surrounding death and how we deal with it as a culture, you might want to phrase it better in order to not receive hostile responses. Or better yet, start a thread about that issue, because I do think it is important.
Click to expand...
Oh, I did not know that. It explains quite a bit about Steve's behavior from a psychological standpoint.
 
E.Flowers said:
Oh, I did not know that. It explains quite a bit about Steve's behavior from a psychological standpoint.
Click to expand...

Yes, he was absent from the forum for awhile, and when he returned he did discuss the circumstances of his wife's death.

I didn't get where he was going with this thread until he asked me all those questions, so now I understand.
 
My answers to this thread are now bothering me. I certainly didn't mean any disrespect to steve001 and what he is going through or mean to belittle his questions.

Steve, if you are still reading, I think you should make a thread about how our (Western) culture deals with death. I think that would be really interesting.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top