Victorian death photography is a practice that was popular in the 19th century, particularly during the reign of Queen Victoria, from 1837 to 1901. This type of photography involved taking photographs of deceased individuals, often to remember and preserve their memory. While it may seem macabre to modern sensibilities, Victorian death photography was a common practice at the time. It can provide us with a unique insight into the culture and customs of the era.
Background
Death was an ever-present reality in the Victorian era. Infant mortality rates were high, and many died young from diseases that are now easily treatable. Death was also more visible in Victorian society, with public executions and mourning rituals being common. This cultural fascination with death extended to photography, which was a relatively new technology at the time.
In the early days of photography, taking photographs was difficult and expensive. Therefore, many families only had one or two pictures of their loved ones, usually brought on special occasions such as weddings or christenings. When someone died, it was often the case that there were no photographs of them, which made it difficult for their loved ones to remember them. Victorian death photography offered a solution to this problem.
How It Was Done
Victorian death photography was done in various ways, depending on the family’s resources and the photographer’s expertise. Sometimes, the photographer would photograph the deceased person in their bed, surrounded by flowers and other decorations. This photograph type was often called a “deathbed portrait.” In other cases, the deceased person would be posed in a more elaborate setting, such as a chair or pedestal. The aim was to make the person look as lifelike as possible to be remembered as they were in life.
One of the techniques used to make the deceased look more lifelike was to prop them up with supports such as metal rods or stands. The photographer would then hide the supports with props such as cushions or drapery. This gave the impression that the person was sitting or standing naturally, even though they were deceased.
Another technique used in Victorian death photography was to paint the person’s eyes to make them look more alive. This was done by painting a thin layer of color on the eyes, usually blue or brown, to create the illusion of pupils. The lips and cheeks would also be rouged to make them look more vibrant.
Why It Was Done
The reasons for taking Victorian death photography varied. For some families, it was a way to remember their loved ones and to keep their memory alive. Death was an ever-present reality in Victorian society, and many people died young, so having a photograph of a deceased loved one was a way to ensure that they were not forgotten.
For others, Victorian death photography was a way to deal with the grief of losing a loved one. Posing the deceased person for a photograph was a way to say goodbye and acknowledge their passing. It was also a way to create a sense of closure and to move on from the loss.
Victorian death photography was also used as a way to document the deceased person’s appearance for legal or scientific reasons. For example, a photograph could be used as evidence in a trial if a person died under suspicious circumstances. Similarly, if a person dies of a rare disease, a photograph could be used to document the symptoms and help with medical research.
Controversy
Despite its popularity at the time, Victorian death photography was not without controversy. Some people believed it was disrespectful to the deceased person to take their photograph after they died. Others thought it was a macabre and morbid practice that should be discouraged.
There were several concerns raised about the practice of Victorian death photography. One of the main concerns was that it was seen as being disrespectful to the dead. Some people believed that photographing the deceased violated their dignity and that it went against religious and cultural norms surrounding death and mourning.
There were also concerns about these photographs’ impact on the living. Some critics argued that looking at pictures of the dead could be traumatic and distressing, particularly for grieving people.
In addition to these moral and ethical concerns, there were also practical issues surrounding the practice of Victorian death photography. For example, taking these photographs was expensive and time-consuming, which meant that it was only available to the wealthier members of society.
Victorian death photography gradually fell out of favor towards the end of the 19th century as photography became more accessible and affordable. The development of faster film and the introduction of handheld cameras meant that people could take more spontaneous photographs of their loved ones rather than relying on posed portraits.
Changing attitudes towards death and mourning also contributed to the decline of Victorian death photography. As the Victorian era drew to a close, there was a growing emphasis on private mourning and a move away from public displays of grief. This shift in attitudes meant less demand for photographs of the deceased, and the practice gradually fell out of fashion.
Here Bygonely has compiled a list of creepy portraits and photographs from the Victorian era posing with the deceased bodies.
#1 Edgar Allen Poe post-mortem.
#2 Mother and older sibling posing over a deceased infant.
#3 Dead Bavarian King Louis II.
#4 Mrs. Della Powell, died 1894.
#5 Living husband with his dead wife
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3 Comments
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why is the husband laying there
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He wants goodbye sex?
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#6 Deceased boy photographed with what was likely his favorite toy, a hoop and stick.
#7 Deceased girl in casket.
#8 A family portrait with two deceased babies.
#9 Deceased boy in coffin.
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One Comment
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The boy appears as if he had been sick for some time since his face looks very thin and drawn.
#10 Mother and baby, probably died during childbirth
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5 Comments
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is the baby dead too?
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I sure hope so—-
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It’s crazy to realize just 100 years ago if your baby was too big to deliver …they didn’t do cesareans. How traumatic that must have been.
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Such a heartbreaking moment but there’s a beautiful feeling in this picture.
#11 The pain in these parents’ faces as they hold their dead child is obvious.
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2 Comments
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So sad the baby looks like he’s just sleeping
#12 Dead man in a chair with his dogs.
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9 Comments
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Omg is this scary
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Honestly this is a pretty good one (well if lifelike is what the photographer was going for) if I hadn’t known the context of the picture I would just assumed a guy was lounging in a chair with his dogs on his lap.
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That’s exactly what it is, a guy sitting in a chair with his dog. Post mortem photos were never taken like this. You can’t sit a dead body up like that because it will not stay.
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how r his eyes open
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People often have their eyes partially open after they pass
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This is nothing more than a man sitting in a chair with his dog. Post mortem photos were never taken like this. You can’t sit a body up like that and expect it to stay.
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Yes you can sit a body up or the body can even be standing up as if they posed themselves like this even in death there was mechanisms and gadgets built to help prop or stand up body. And not my opinion it’s a fact because of research done. Research it
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I partially agree. I think it’s unknown what the backstory of this image is, and without it, we cannot know anything about this image,
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#13 Deceased girls.
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7 Comments
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How sad.
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I thought this exact thing. Very sad to have lost two daughters at the one time.
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probably death due to scarlet fever or diptheria. Both were highly contagious diseases.
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why are they handcuffed? lol
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Those are rosary beads. Catholic tradition
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OMG those are rosary beads !
#14 Little girl held in a standing position. The photo is a cabinet card from Villisca, Iowa taken in 1890.
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2 Comments
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Why do they wear a blanket?, do they feel like the death is their fault???
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They want the child to be the focus.
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#15 Four girls mourning a dead dog
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8 Comments
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I have read htat the two women in the back are also deceased.
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They seem dead thought…
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Yes they look like dead
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I thought that the woman seated in the chair could be deceased as it seems the woman seated closest to her has her arm around her , perhaps to hold her in place. It doesn’t look natural that she wouldn’t hold the flowers in her hand but that they were placed as part of a final detail and her very erect posture is at odds to the more relaxed postures of the other three ladies. But, they seem to have cared deeply for their dog as well.
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all dead
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Saddest one poor furbaby 😞
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That is definitely know what we do now today
we normally burn their ashes
R.I.P
#16 The girl standing in the middle is the deceased.The photographer attempted to make her look more alive by drawing on her pupils.
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12 Comments
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Victorians had no device that could, unseen, pose a dead body standing up perfectly straight and looking directly at the camera. It would be difficult to do today. That girl was alive.
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There was posing mechanisms to keep a body standing up straight as if they were alive to pose. Please do research before trying to convince ppl of your Opinion thanks
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They did have those stands. However, we can’t know whether this person is being propped up or not because there is no stand visible in the photo. My vote would be that she is deceased because of the two dots drawn over her eyes in the image, which was likely to make them appear open. I can’t say anything for certain but if the girl were living, then it seems off thar the photographer wouldn’t enhance all their eyes, it would sure make hers stand out less.
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She is not deceased. This idea is going around the internet but it’s incorrect. There is no way to make a dead body stand upright in such a way. Probably this girl blinked her eyes at the wrong moment and so the photographer retouched her eyes in the darkroom.
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They used props to hold the bodies. During this time photographs were rare. If someone died this was usually the only picture a family had of their deceased child. As photographs became more common and less expensive this practice became less common.
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The stands referenced were not designed to bare the dead weight (no pun intended) of a deceased individual. It would be like standing your deceased cat/dog on all fours. Photographs were common as far back as the 1860’s. It’s unfortunate that more weren’t passed down through familes.
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Look at the chair legs on the father’s side. You can see part of the stands leg extended out
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I feel bad for the people who have position them
#17 It was common for family members pose with their dead loved ones for these photographs
#18 Deceased Infant.
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2 Comments
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This photo of the baby is rather haunting.
#19 There is just something about her eyes in this photo.
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6 Comments
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They used to paint the eyes open onto the actual image to make them look more alive. That’s probably the case here.
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Nah. She’s alive. You can see her neck and face is drooping
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It looks like she died blind
#20 The dead girl on the end is being propped up with a special device.
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8 Comments
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It’s really great to have some of the backstories to these photos, thank you to the poster!! What’s telling here is that the living persons are ever so slightly blurred, while the deceased is absolutely clear.
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The boys look like triplets; they look so much alike it’s uncanny. It’s as if it’s the same boy, made to a bit taller than the first.
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The little boy next to his sister looks sad. Bless their hearts. They probably didn’t have any choice.
#21 Little girl sitting sideways on the chair, the device propping her up is hidden.
#22 The body of William T. Anderson who fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War.
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3 Comments
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“Bloody Bill” Anderson; who earned his nickname for a brutal attack he perpetrated which became known as the Centralia Massacre. On September 27, 1864, roughly 80 guerrillas under the command of William T. “Bloody Bill” Anderson stopped a train outside of Centralia, Missouri and asked for a volunteer from among the Union soldiers onboard. Fully expecting to be executed, Sergeant Thomas M. Goodman bravely stepped forward. Instead of killing the sergeant, the guerrillas instead executed the line of 22 unarmed Union soldiers and set fire to the train, leaving civilian passengers to deal with their mutilated bodies. The attack became known as the Centralia Massacre; a noteworthy example of the violence directed against noncombatants that took place during the Missouri-Kansas border war.
Sergeant Goodman, the sole military survivor of the Centralia Massacre, declared that the deaths were “the most monstrous and inhuman atrocities ever perpetuated.”-
And it’s still hasn’t changed. There is no honor in man’s inhumanity to man
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#23 Unknown Boy.
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3 Comments
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That really is quite beautiful.
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They need more flowers
#24 Post-mortem photo of Gen. Turner Ashby, a confederate cavalry commander in the American Civil War.
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9 Comments
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Let me take a wild guess, he hated black people.
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Do you know anything about this guy? Or are you just assuming that because he served in the Confederate army?
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Let me guess…you’re a jackass.
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You’re the kind of informed citizen the Left counts on.
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The Articles of Secession state that the south was fighting to keep the institution of slavery. One could speculate that this man may not have hated black people, but certainly fought to keep them enslaved.
https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/reasons-secession-
He probably had never even seen a black person in his life. Take your politics elsewhere.
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You riled them up with that comment. LOL good job
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where is his mouth
#25 A rather odd post-mortem pose.
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4 Comments
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Illegals running rampant in our country
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and so are crazies like you!🤪🤪🤪
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Yeah, wasn’t this the year that your ancestors where the illegal ones???
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#26 Living man holding his dead wife.The pain in his is obvious
#27 Deceased girl.
#28 With their deceased sibling.
#29 In this photo the subject is more in focus than her parents, as they moved while the photograph was being taken.
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One Comment
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You can see the pain in the fathers eyes and the grief in the mothers eyes.
The Daughter looks beautiful, serene and calm.
There is pain and beauty in this photo.
#30 Dead bodies used to look alive by the photographs
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3 Comments
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If you look, it appears as though a mirror was used to reflect the faces of the remaining family members instead of them all posing with the deceased girl… who may well have passed from something very contagious.
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A lot of times these photos were taken at the ending of their lives,say if they had an incurable disease etc,the family would get the sickly one gussied up in their finest clothing,pose them for a family picthen take them back for bed rest.
#31 Sometimes, photographers would try to make it appear like the dead person was sleeping as in this photo.
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5 Comments
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both girls are dead. alot of the time you can tell, by their hands. they are darker almost black.
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I’ve seen this one many times. The girl on the right is her twin sister and very much alive
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Hands could just as well be tanned
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That’s true (the comment re: appearing to be asleep). But we all know if both girls were living, someone would be putting a finger in the other’s ear or tormenting them somehow, lol.
#32 Dead girl is is lying on the floor of the parlor surrounded by family members.
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5 Comments
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I somehow doubt this is a postmorten photo. a lot of people are smiling, and it looks like they just ate a big dinner. I seem to see a cat in one ladys lap. Much too informal!
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It is odd the respective moods of each side of the family group. I wonder what the story was behind the death of the little girl. She at least looks to be sleeping.
#33 Deceased baby whose eyes are likely painted open.
#34 A deceased woman positioned as alive
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2 Comments
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She looks like she was pregnant. Maybe she passed when trying to have the child?
#35 Cabinet card of a deceased young woman in her parlor by a Rome, NY photography studio, 1890’s.
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2 Comments
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What is a cabinet card?
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It refers to the type of photography technique that was used. Cabinet cards are a dense, cardboard like substance.
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#36 The text on the frame reads, “Miss Jeanette Glackmeyer, daughter whose above photo was taken 9 days after death. Mother could not part with only daughter.”
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3 Comments
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The sideways note actualy reads: “Mother could not part with only daughter.”
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Thanks what it says?
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#37 Deceased girl, her eyes was painted before taking photograph.
#38 Cabinet card by Beniamino Facchinelli showing deceased infant, c.1890.
#39 Deceased girl.
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3 Comments
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It’s the same photo as #41
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No, it’s 43
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47
#40 Sleeping Girl
#41 Deceased man with flowers
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4 Comments
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why does he look like Albert Einstein
#42 Women sitting next to dead girl. These death portrait were meant to serve as mementos of the deceased loved one.
#43 Dead girl with her toys.
#44 A little girl sitting on someone’s lap. The person held her in place while the photo was taken.
#45 Imagine how difficult it must have been to pose with a dead loved one. Here is an example of what happens when people moved.
#46 This one is obvious.
#47 Flowers and religious statues were often used as props in post-mortem photos.
#48 Dead nun in Palermo, Sicily.
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2 Comments
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She looks like Paul Newman before he died.
#49 Deceased young woman is holding a small bible or testament.
#50 The Corpse of Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico
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3 Comments
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Humidor?
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This is totally disrespectful in my opinion, as his face looks disfigured! This should’ve been a closed casket
#51 Deathbed of Adeline Grace Clogstoun, 1872
#52 postmortem portrait of a child, 1870
#53 We’re nearer to the other shore since the baby died, 1899.
#54 A young girl on her deathbed surrounded by her family, 1860
#55 other with Dead Child
#56 A sick elderly woman with a nurse.
#57 Sometimes it was impossible to make the subjects look alive as in this photo.
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5 Comments
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So sad 🥺
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She’s got some big mitts there.
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She- looks like a man.
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She sort of does, wearing a wig!
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#58 Cabinet cards were made available as photography progressed – multiple copies of the same image could be created and mailed to relatives.
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2 Comments
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Mmmmm…Krispy Kreme…
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These pictures very often were placed on tombstones in family cemeteries. I remember seeing them.
#59 The dead boy was holded from behind the curtain.
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3 Comments
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why he kinda look like trump though, smh
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Yes he does!
#60 Boy posing with deceased boy wearing the same cloth.
#61 A mother covers her face while holding her dead baby.
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6 Comments
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this baby looks a little blurry, like he must have moved. Not sure this is postmortem.
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Casper holding baby
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Not all “hidden mother” photos are holding deceased babies. This child is not dead. The image would be clearer if baby was deceased.
#62 Dead men positioned as alive, photographer used his arm to support the head.
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6 Comments
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1875 portrait of author Lewis Carrol often incorrectly described as a post mortem photo.
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Bored to death i think
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He is debating going down the rabbit hole.
#63 Difficult to tell which one is deceased.
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7 Comments
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Left
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it really is not, you can see that behind her feet there is a device propping her up
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The girl on the left is expired…her eyes are foggy as opposed to her brother who you can clearly see his pupils. I dunno
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I think they’re both dead in this picture as it looks like propping up devices behind both of them.
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It appears as if the taller one of the two, has some type of device that is holding her up. If you look behind her shoes, there’s a shadowy device of sorts.
#64 She almost looks alive in this photograph.
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8 Comments
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If you look closely she’s wearing fingerless gloves but her fingers are black on both hands I think they waited to take this picture a little too long
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My God!! How long has this poor woman been expired before they took these photos??!!😳
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This photo has no provenance and is believed to be a fake.
Correction. Since his name is spelled here with an “E” (“it’s Allan, not Allen) maybe it refers to someone other than EAP
When I was very young during family reunions or visits with the grandparents we frequently went to family cemeteries. There were many tombstones with pictures of the deceased.
Not only does it have no provenance, it doesn’t even resemble him at all, and certainly his terrible suffering before he finally died did NOT cause him to look younger, change the shape of his face and head, etc. If anyone has any info about who was the initial poster of this hoax, please let me know.