Looking at nineteenth-century medical/forensic texts, we see much excitement that post-mortem photographs will aid in identifying the unknown dead. Those commercial photographers who specialized in “securing the shadow ere the substance fade,” generally wanted to show a corpse in repose; “not dead, but sleeping.” The recumbent position, in coffin or on a chaise longue, was essential to the illusion. The road called Willshire Road is now Shannon Street or State Route 118. The “new cemetery” is Woodland Cemetery of Van Wert. The older cemetery was on West Main Street. Its inhabitants were moved to Woodland. You can find the Croglin Grange story at http://augustus-hare.tripod.com/croglin.html. If you have questions about Victorian mourning or comments, please do get in touch at chriswoodyard8 AT gmail.com Sigurjón Baldur Hafsteinsson. 'Dauðinn í mynd lífsins: ljósmyndir af látnum,' in Eitt sinn skal hver deyja, ed. Sigurjón Baldur Hafsteinsson, Reykjavík: Mokka Press 1996.

Taken from life: The unsettling art of death photography - BBC

Recently there were two stories in the news about tombstones being reused in inappropriate ways: children’s grave markers used to “decorate” a country mansion and United States veterans’ headstones built into a patio. This is, of course, nothing new: the ruins of churches and monasteries, including tombs and headstones, have long been mined for useable stone to repair cottages or build walls. It was only in 2013 that a town in the Ukraine announced that it would stop using Jewish headstones as paving materials.

Controversy

There’s also an entire chapter devoted to ghosts, which has always been one of my favorite things about 19th century newspapers: that they would actually print ghost stories as though they were news. The divorce was obtained with ease, as Thorne made no answer to the complaint and the case was perfectly clear in our favor. In the midst of life we are in death, ma’am; I am sure it is a warning to me, ma’am, as well as to my betters.” I don’t mind stretching a point to include coffins containing corpses, as they could also be lethal. See this wonderful post from Strange Companyfor a full complement of people crushed by corpse-filled coffins. I will just add one more. Woman,’ said he, continuing his speech, and now, pointing his long, bony finger at the old lady, ‘had you not gold enough without taking Annie’s birthright? Get up and come with us!’

The Victorian Book of the Dead - Google Books

In America, post-mortem photography became an increasingly private practice by the mid-to-late nineteenth century, with discussion moving out of trade journals and public discussion. [12] There was a resurgence in mourning tableaux, where the living were photographed surrounding the coffin of the deceased, sometimes having them visible. This practice continued until the 1960s. [12] [17] [18] [1] Iceland [ edit ] Linkman, Audrey (2006). "Taken from Life: Post-Mortem Portraiture in Britain 1860-1910". History of Photography: An International Quarterly. 30 (4): 309–347. doi: 10.1080/03087298.2006.10443484. S2CID 191646714. a b Hafsteinsson, Sigurjón Baldur (2005). "History of Photography. Post-mortem and funeral photography in Iceland". History of Photography. 23: 49–54. doi: 10.1080/03087298.1999.10443798. The drowned young woman in this next story returned to complain to her parents that the undertaker had buried her on the cheap, with a filthy piece of flannel instead of a proper shroud.This next tragic story has unfortunately been echoed bycontemporary news stories of wives orchildren being trapped beneath a loved one’s dead body. No, I don’t!’ said a solemn and familiar voice, and a dusky form crossed the room and stood before the grate fire; remarkable to say, the firelight shone sheer through his legs. I felt my hair raise. I was greatly frightened.

The Deepest Mourning Ever Worn; and the Richest: 1859

An extraordinary occurrence at Corunna is reported by the Madrid correspondent of the “Telegraph.” In the upper story of a house in that town lay the dead body of an old woman. Suddenly the floor of the room collapsed, and the corpse fell on a group of men in the room below. One of the men died from the injuries caused by the falling corpse, and the others were severely hurt. A curious coincidence is that the man who was killed had gone to the house to present an outstanding account, not knowing that his debtor had died. Ellesmere Guardian16 April 1913: p. 2

🍪 Privacy & Transparency

Mrs. Jones, when the disaster was made known to her, told her story to her poor neighbours. They generously clubbed together, and in a few days they handed her the needed amount. Chris Woodyard knows that the morbidly-obsessed Victorians had “as many words for death as the Inuit do for types of snow,” and she shares her knowledge in the relentlessly fascinating compendium of grim 19th century arcana, The Victorian Book of the Dead.