The Morthouse

Source: sphenoid05 on Flickr.

(via thanatomanie)

rhymeswithcoral:

Bulgarian widower and his wife.

Dated March 10th, 1920.

(Source: columba-livia, via thanatomanie)

(Source: allyssapower, via thanatomanie)

Louis-Rémy Robert, “Jacques-Joseph Ebelman on his Deathbed,” 1852. Waxed paper negative. Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art.

From the museum’s description online:

This paper negative, from the collection of Robert’s descendants, shows Jacques-Joseph Ebelmen, director of the Sèvres porcelain factory, on his deathbed March 31, 1852. From its inception, photography was enlisted to record the faces of the deceased - it was, in effect, a new type of death mask. 

Elling Anderson Folkestadås, Funeral of Daniel Danielson Bjørkedal 1917. From Fylkesarkivet i Sogn og Fjordane on Flickr:

The funeral of Daniel Danielson Bjørkedal. The family has gathered around the coffin. From the left: Per Danielson Åsebø (b. 1898), Knut Danielson Åsebø (b. 1896), Ane Marte Fjøshaug, Ingeborg Danielsdatter Åsebø (b. 1894), Sivert Danielson Åsebø, Margit Jonsdatter Åsebø (b. 1910), Sigurd Johson Åsebø (b. 1908), Olav Hanson Åsebø (b. 1909) and Halvdan Hanson Åsebø (b. 1910).

Charles Van Schaick, “Baby in Coffin,” undated. Black River Falls, Wisconsin. Source: Wisconsin Historical Society.

Charles Van Schaick, “Open Casket with Body of European American Man,” undated. Black River Falls, Wisconsin. Source: Wisconsin Historical Society.

Photoarchivist’s desciption:

Open casket with the corpse of an European American man lying inside it wearing a dark-colored suit coat and bow tie. Floral arrangements are placed above his head and on top of his midsection. Another man wearing a derby is visible looking from behind the casket.

I would never have noticed the derby-hatted man if this hadn’t been in the description, and this picture is about twice as amazing now that I’ve noticed it.

That said, I think I should take a moment to express how thankful I am for the archivists at the Wisconsin Historical Society. Their online collections are really fabulous, and I owe a lot to them for many of my favorite posts on my other Tumblr blogs. 

From Ballyhooligan on Flickr:

Post mortem cabinet card of a man in a coffin with two men standing watch overhead. Coffin is resting between two chairs. I believe this is Italian in origin. Some text is on the verso of the image, however, some silverfish damage has made most of the text illegible.

Julia Buccola Petta in 1927, exhumed after 6 years in the grave by johnmartine63 on Flickr.

Here’s the story: Julia Buccola Petta (1892-1921), also known as “The Italian Bride,” was a housewife who died in childbirth. From Wikipedia:

Following her death, Petta was buried at Mount Carmel Cemetery in the Chicago, Illinois suburb of Hillside. Petta was buried in her wedding dress. A photo of Petta in her wedding dress was placed on her monument, which also features a statue of her based on this photo. Soon after Petta’s death, her mother began experiencing dreams in which Petta was telling her that she was still alive.

Six years after Petta’s death, Filomena secured permission to have the grave opened and her daughter exhumed. The coffin was found to have decomposed, but when it was opened Petta’s body was still intact - her body had not decayed at all. Her mother took a picture of Petta in her casket, which was placed on the monument and is still there to this day.

Source: Démodée on Flickr.

“Greek murder,” 1920. From Shorpy: “Two victims of a bloody altercation involving a hatchet and revolver that left three people dead in a rooming house at 809 Ninth Street in Washington.”

Postmortem cabinet card. (Source: kingkongphoto’s Flickr.)

fuckyeahbizarrestuff:

This is a Petrolia post mortem photo by Robson. It was extremely expensive to have a photo taken during Victorian times. Only the wealthy could afford such a luxury. If a child or other loved one died it was a common practice to have a photo taken either alone or as in this case with the family especially if there was not yet a living likeness.If you look closely you can see a base behind the girls feet and a post would go up from that with clamps at the waist and neck and the clothing would be open at the back. The arms would have stiff wires running at the back to hold them in place. Also notice the strange placement of the hands. The pupils are painted on the closed eyelids.

(Source: )

Cabinet card. (Source: josefnovak33’s Flickr.)