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Death photographs, also known as post-mortem photographs, are commemorative pictures of recently deceased loved ones. They were particularly popular during the Victorian era, a time when “life was suffused with death”.[1] Suppressing the realities of death by commemorating it in a familiar setting, may have brought comfort to the bereaved.[2]
The invention of the daguerreotype in 1839 made portraiture commonplace. Many of those unable to afford the commission of a painted portrait, as the wealthier members of society were able to do, could afford to sit for a photography session,[3] providing the middle class with a way to remember their dead loved ones. And the long exposure times required by early photographic techniques made the deceased relatively easy subjects, as they were unlikely to move.[4]
As cheaper methods of photography were introduced in the 1850s, the popularity of post-mortem pictures began to wain, as most families could then have photographs of the bereaved taken while they were alive.[1]
