20 Photos Of Deceased Loved Ones That Will Make You Perceive Death Differently
Back when photography was just a budding art form, it was too expensive and laborious that it was often only in death when a person gets photographed.
These post-mortem pictures or memento mori, which is Latin for "remember that you will die," served as treasured remembrance of a loved one who passed away.
In most of the photos, an effort is made to make the deceased pose as if alive, sometimes surrounded by family, held by their spouses or parents, and photographed with flowers.
1. Just look at those haunting eyes.
Tumblr
2. Four women mourns the death of their beloved dog.
Paul Frecker
3. A husband lies beside the body of his wife for her post-mortem photo.
4. This young woman is believed to be an army hospital nurse. The revenue stamp dates this photo to 1864.
5. A dead woman's bed adorned with flowers.
R. Dechavannes
6. A postcard showing a dead nun in Palermo, Sicily.
Paul Frecker
7. A memento mori of William T. Anderson, he fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War.
The Skull Illusion
8. Parents posing with their dead daughter.
The Daily Mail
9. This photo of a dead baby is hauntingly artistic.
Science Blogs
10. Memento mori of Bavarian King Louis II
11. A dead woman held lovingly by her husband.
12. A deceased child surrounded by her family.
13. Memento mori of Mrs. Della Powell, she died in 1894.
Paul Frecker
14. A mother covers her face while holding her dead child.
15. Edgar Allan Poe's death remains a mystery to this day. This is his post-mortem photo.
Celebrity Morgue
16. With their deceased sibling.
Scienceblogs
17. Post-mortem picture of Gen. Turner Ashby, a confederate cavalry commander during the American Civil War.
Civil War Talk
18. These beautiful kids look like they're just sleeping.
Antique Photo Album
19. A rather odd post-mortem pose.
Flickr
20. Post-mortem photo of a little girl held in a standing position. The picture is a cabinet card from Villisca, Iowa taken in 1890.
