Monday, February 18, 2013

Photo Number 1140

This week we will look at some photos that were taken as memorials.  Post-mortem photography took many forms.

This is a copy of a photo that was made into a postcard…most likely to mail to family members far away.  This postcard is from the antique shop in Detroit Lakes Minnesota.  The Cyko postcard is from 1904 to 1920.

Postcard Cyko 1904 to 1920 Death Our Dahling or Darling ML Antiques Erhard

Flowers, streamers and bows with a photograph propped up in the center.  One of the streamers says Our Dahling.

Postcard Cyko 1904 to 1920 Death Our Dahling or Darling ML Antiques Erhard

Possibly a child.

In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s people seemed to have a better acceptance of death.  Funerals were often held in the home, in the front parlor.  Sometimes that photo is the only one they had of the person who died.

Thanks for stopping by.  Do come again:)

3 comments:

  1. Can't exactly say I'll be looking forward to the photographs this week, but I'm interested in your take on memorial photography.

    I've heard quite a bit about the "post-mortem" photographs, but it seems everyone has their own take on whether a certain picture was of that type. When I posted the scans of late 1800s photographs loaned to me by a distant relative, I got a lot of comments, "Oh, that's one of those photographs. But I wasn't necessarily sure, myself.

    I wonder if a lot of those don't-blink-or-you'll-ruin-the-sitting portraits made more people look "post mortem" than was originally intended. :)

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    Replies
    1. My collection is more "Memorial" than actual post-mortem..I do have one post- mortem photo ..but I have not decided if I will post it or not.:(

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    2. There is a good group on Flickr that focuses on post-mortem photography. Some of the more obvious ones are the children laid out on a settee with lots of flowers or in a casket or one sibling holding up the other. One in particular I will always remember was the family had used artificial eyes for the photo. They were wooden and crudely painted. Definitely not something I want to be thinking about in the dark!

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Hi, Thanks for the comments, your input on these old photos is appreciated! English only please! All comments will be moderated! Connie