Memento Mori - Loads of Pics

caroliner · #1 ● 08-02-2013, 05:15 PM

Each picture in this set contains a corpse.....I promise, some are easy to spot, others are not.

A little history first.........

Back when corpses were not a taboo as they are now, dead relatives would be prepared for burial in the home by the family and often "laid out" for viewing.

The Victorians lost a lot of children due to high mortality rates and many feared having no image of their beloved to gaze upon.

Then Memento Mori was born. Photography was very expensive and you had to sit for quite some time to just take one picture. Families would call for the photographer and pt the body on ice until he arrived.

This became a very common practice and rather than just plain coffin shots the families expressed a wish to have the dead look.....well, alive.

In many of these pictures you can see the stand bases used to support the deceased, usually clamped through the back of the clothes at the ankles, waist and neck. You may also notice that many seem to look a bit startled, this is due to the photographer painting eyes on their eyelids to make them appear awake.

This is part of my collection that I have been right clicking for years.

Enjoy!