"The invention of the daguerreotype in 1839 made portraiture much more commonplace, as many of those who were unable to afford the commission of a painted portrait could afford to sit for a photography session. This cheaper and quicker method also provided the middle class with a means for memorializing dead loved ones.
These photographs served less as a reminder of mortality than as a keepsake to remember the deceased. This was especially common with infants and young children; Victorian era childhood mortality rates were extremely high, and a post-mortem photograph might have been the only image of the child the family ever had. The later invention of the carte de visite, which allowed multiple prints to be made from a single negative, meant that copies of the image could be mailed to relatives."


Dead young woman. Note her hands. The frameworks fastened at the waist and neck with heavy gauge wire to position and hold the arms. The clothes were left unfastened at the back.













Post-mortem photo of parents with their daughter -- notice they are a bit blurry from slight movement, but she is perfectly clear...