ANTIQUE VICTORIAN CABINET PHOTO

MINT CONDITION

ALL PHOTOS ARE SCANNED TO GIVE BUYER THE BEST VIEW POSSIBLE SO WHAT YOU SEE IS EXACTLY WHAT YOU RECIEVE

PHOTO OF ---woman posing( notice the drawn pupils and cloudy eyes)

PHOTOGRAPHER: EISSINGER

LOCATION---1751 AND 1753 GERMANTOWN AVE .PHILADELPHIA PA

I WILL BE LISTING HUNDREDS OF PHOTOS IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS PLEASE ASK FOR A BUY IT NOW OPTION IF YOU REALLY WANT THE PHOTO I WILL COMBINE SHIPPING ON MULTIPLE ITEMS

BUY PHOTOS IN QUANITY FREE SHIPPING

 
 
ANTIQUE PHOTOGRAPH OF WHAT I BELIEVE TO BE A POST MORTEM GIRL..HERE IS WHY BELIEVE THIS TO BE A POST MORTEM PHOTOGRAPH...

PUPILS APPEAR TO HAVE BEEN DRAWN IN BY PHOTOGRAPHER ON EYES THAT HAVE CLOUDED OVER AFTER DEATH
JAW IS VERY RIGID AS IF RIGOR MORTIS HAS SET IN SHOULDERS VER TIGHT

I will respond to any and all questions about this post mortem photo, but I won't respond to skeptical comments. Content of photographs on auction are determined by my subjective opinion based on my research
into the history of post mortem photograph in this country.

Just a few of my research references... Ancestry.com Ruby, Jay (1995) Secure the Shadow: Death and PhotographY in America. Boston: MIT Press Burns Stanley B. (1990) Sleeping Beauty: Memorial Photograph in American. Twelve Trees Press External Links: The Thanatos Archive Antique Pyhoto Album Wikipedia Shades of the Departed I have put considerably time into research into post mortem photography. Then, I take facts I have learned and apply them to the photographs I buy and inspect. MOST OF THEM are NOT post mortem. I sell all kinds of antique photographs. With the post mortem photographs (posed or otherwise), I give MY OPINION. Not an EXPERT opinion, but an informed opinion. If a bidder agrees with my opinion, they are welcome to bid on what was, in all probability, the only treasured likeness of their beloved deceased. If a bidder disagrees, they can click on to another auction item. I have had years of genealogy research, so I believe in thorough research and I believe that every picture tells a story, if you know the clues to look for...

WHY I SEARCH FOR AND SELL POST MORTEM PHOTOGRAPHS:

THE PHOTOGRAPHS I SELL ARE EARLY POST MORTEM PHOTOGRAPHS. I FIND THEM FASCINATING KEEPSAKES FROM AN ERA WHERE THE GRIEVING TREASURED THIS ONE PHOTOGRAPH (AND IN MANY CASES ONLY IMAGE) OF THEIR LOVED ONE. VICTORIAN ERA CHILDHOOD MORTALITY RATES WERE EXTREMELY HIGH AND IT HAS BEEN ESTIMATED THAT PROBABLY ONE-THIRD OF ALL PHOTOGRAPHED CHILDREN INCLUDED A POST MORTEM SUBJECT. BEING THE ONLY PHOTO THE GRIEVING FAMILY WOULD EVER HAVE, LEAD TO A NEED TO SHOW THE DECEASED CHILD AS ALIVE. CHILDREN WERE OFTEN SHOWN ON A COUCH OR CHAIR, POSED WITH A FAVORITE TOY. IT WAS NOT UNCOMMON TO PHOTOGRAPH VERY YOUNG CHILDREN WITH A FAMILY MEMBER OR SIBLINGS. ADULTS WERE MORE COMMONLY POSED IN CHAIRS OR EVEN BRACED STANDING ON SPECIALLY DESIGNED FRAMES. FLOWERS WERE ALSO A COMMON PROP IN POST MORTEM PHOTOGRAPHS.

EARLY POST MORTEM PHOTOGRAPHS ARE RARE, BECAUSE IF LATER GENERATIONS REALIZED WHAT THEY WERE, THEY WERE JUDGED AS BIZARRE OR MORBID AND OFTEN WERE THROWN OUT. MANY TIMES IT WAS JUST NOT KNOWN TO BE A POST MORTEM BECAUSE THE SUBJECT IS PHOTOGRAPHED ALONE OR WITH OTHERS
IN A LIFELIKE POSE AND SETTING. MANY PHOTO STUDIOS ADVERTISED AND SPECIALIZED IN POST MORTEM AND BODIES WERE BROUGHT TO THE STUDIO TO BE PHOTOGRAPHED OR THE PHOTOGRAPHER WOULD COME TO THE HOME.

IN SEARCHING FOR THESE EXCEPTIONAL PHOTOGRAPHS, FIRST THING I DO IS LOOK TO SEE IF THERE IS SOMETHING "OFF" ABOUT A PHOTO. ONCE I BUY A PHOTO I SUSPECT MAY BE A POST MORTEM, I LOOK FOR MORE CLUES WITH HIGH POWERED LIGHTS & MAGNIFYING GLASS.

-STARRING EYES THAT LOOK OFF IN THE DISTANCE, NOT AT THE CAMERA.
-MISSHAPEN OR ENLARGED HEAD OR LIMBS,
-UNUSUAL STIFFNESS OR RIGID LIMBS DUE TO RIGOR MORTIS OF THE BODY.
-CIRCLES DRAWN AROUND THE IRIS OF THE EYE (EYES CLOUD OVER QUICKLY AFTER DEATH) OR ONE OR MORE EYES DRAWN IN BY THE PHOTOGRAPHER
(DUE TO ONE OR BOTH OF THE EYES "DRIFTING").
-A STAND BEHIND THE BODY (STANDS WERE REGULARLY USED JUST TO KEEP CHILDREN STILL, SO THE STAND ALONE IS NOT AN INDICATOR) OR A BRACE
DETECTED UNDER THE CLOTHING.
-SPARSE, SHORT OR NO HAIR FROM AN ILLNESS.
-FLOWERS PLACED WITH ADULT POST MORTEMS AND STUFFED ANIMALS & FAVORITE TOYS PLACED WITH CHILDREN, ESPECIALLY LAMBS, WHICH
SIGNIFIED THE DEATH OF A CHILD.
-EXPRESSIONS OF SADNESS OR FRIGHT ON THE FACES OF THE SURVIVORS POSING WITH THE BODY.
-I REALIZE THAT PEOPLE DID NOT SMILE IN THOSE DAYS, BUT I LOOK INTO THE EYES OF THE LIVING FOR SORROW AND/OR GRIEF WITHIN THE FACE.
-BODY LANGUAGE EMBRACING OR TURNING AWAY FROM THE DECEASED.
-HIGHLY DECORATIVE "MEMORIAL" BACKS OF CABINET CARDS OR CDV's, OFTEN WITH THE NAME AND DATE OF DEATH HANDWRITTEN.

I WILL ONLY LIST A PHOTOGRAPH, AFTER THROUGH INVESTIGATION USING THE ABOVE CLUES. I WILL LIST IN THE DESCRIPTION THE REASONS WHY I BELIEVE THE PHOTO TO BE POST MORTEM. KEEP IN MIND, THAT THIS IS ONLY MY OPINION. IF YOU DON'T AGREE, THAT IS FINE. IF YOU DO AGREE, PLEASE BID AND KEEP THIS PHOTO, WHICH WAS TREASURED BY THE FAMILY OF THE DECEASED LONG AGO, AND DESERVES TO GO TO ANOTHER PERSON OR INSTITUTION THAT SEES THE VALUE OF THESE UNUSUAL KEEPSAKES.

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