Yale Center for British Art

Title:
Postmortem carte de visite portraits of children.
Published / Created:
Great Britain, circa 1865-1890.
Physical Description:
3 cartes de visite : albumen ; mounts 10.3 x 6.3 cm
Collection:
Rare Books and Manuscripts
Copyright Status:
Copyright Not Evaluated
Classification:
Photographs
Notes:
"The earliest postmortem photographs were the simplest ... Many images were taken exactly where the deceased had expired, without arranging the body. Often parents are shown holding a child in their laps, as if it is still alive, or holding it up. Frequently the subject, usually a child, is placed across a studio chair or couch in a pose representing 'the last sleep.' Some images of this type depict the child in its bed, often in a christening outfit ...In the 1860s with the advent of albumen prints and the invention of the popular carte-de-visite, multiple prints of the postmortem photograph became possible. This facilitated the dissemination of images to relatives in distant locations ..."--Postmortem photography, in Encyclopedia of Nineteenth-Century Photography (2008), volume 2, pages 1165-1166.
Subject Terms:
Children -- Death. | Mourning customs -- Great Britain.
Form/Genre:
Albumen prints. | Cartes-de-visite (card photographs) | Portrait photographs. | Postmortem photographs. | Photographs.
Contributors:
Beales, Frederick, photographer. | Peplow, Alfred, photographer. | Lowe, Lawrence, (Photographer), photographer. | Marion and Co. (Paris, France)