
The Victorians experimented with different types of photography – and even took snaps of dead relatives
But if his posture seems rather unnatural, it is for good reason. He is dead.
These remarkable pictures show the morbid way that the deceased were remembered in the late 19th century.
Children were often shown in repose on a couch or in a crib
The invention of the daguerreotype – the earliest photographic process – in 1839 brought portraiture to the masses.
It was far cheaper and quicker than commissioning a painted portrait and it enabled the middle classes to have an affordable, cherished keepsake of their dead family members.
Known as post-mortem photography, some of the dearly departed were photographed in their coffin.
The invention of the daguerreotype – the earliest photographic process – in 1839 brought portraiture to ...