Comments

CAS, that photo is absolutely amazing. I have seen many a Victorian portrait taken after death, but I have to admit I've never seen anyone looking that "lifelike," ESPECIALLY given that it was taken 9 days after her death!

2 months ago I purchased an excellent book called, "Wisconsin Death Trip" by Michael Lesy & Charles Van Schaick. They compile some fascinating photographs taken between 1890 and 1910 in Black River Falls, Wisconsin and intersperse them with clippings from state newspapers and admissions files from a state psychiatric facility. Very weird but very enlightening. When people act like life was fun and easy back in the "good old days," it quickly becomes obvious they weren't actually there at the time or they wouldn't describe it as having been that much fun.

Gezal, I would really hope you would never try that seening how what you are looking at is a hole to the room below and not an acutal pool of liquid.

In the winter it couls be an indoor ice skating rink.

-- Or is that a bad idea?

Those gloves suggest that they were dealing with some caustic substances. I wonder what the whits stuff in the big jar is.

CAS, that picture is amazing it looks like she is really sitting there posing for a pic. my grandmaother had some pictures like that and I have found some in anitque stores, but husband will not let me get them, especially when I say " oh look a post mortum shot"

bones....it does look like bones. It looks like the house is gonna eat u like a cookie, or sometin'

I CANT BELIEVE THIS SHOT! WAY COOL MOTTS YOURE THE @#*&$!

Yes, It's truly sad that people with mental problems were taken somewhere where they could receive specialized care and treatment 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Norwood Asylum was a mental institution that cared for more than people who were just depressed. Also, please let's try to remember that people came here BECAUSE of a mental condition that had BEFORE being admitted and treated by the hospital. They did not go there in perfect mental conditions and develop problems later on simply because the walls were pink.

Keep in mind also that Motts took these photos anywhere from 10-40 years after the institution was closed. The deterioration you see today is from neglect after all that time. When the hospital was still active it looked much, much better than this.

How depressing; how sad. What those poor people must have went through!

These pictures are just too much. Motts is taking pictures of things that one day will no longer exist.

I would have pulled it. Can't help it, I'm a natural born lever puller.

WOW!!!!! Would just love to walk down these hallways and look in every room!

Fantastic picture!!! Has anyone ever heard of "If you can't say anything nice about anybody, don't say anything at all?" I think every single picture you take is fantastic, Motts. There always has to be somebody out there that always thinks they know a little bit more than anybody else.

Post death photography was most popular during the Victorian era. It was one of the ways that some families said good bye to their loved ones, and for some poorer families it was the only portrait ever taken of their loved ones. While it was more popular to take the picture while the deceased was laying in state, it's not uncommon to find one from time to time where they tried to make the person look alive by propping them up and posing the body.

http://ame2.asu.edu/pr...20the%20dead/131.jpg

Look at the above picture and read the comments around it. It says that the picture was taken 9 days after death, and that her mother couldn't part with her only daughter. Oh... keep in mind that this was well before modern refrigeration.