I feel so lucky that my parent's home has sort of become the informal repository for a large measure of the family history archives. Paging through innumerable albums and digging through boxes of letters, greeting cards, documents, and assorted ephemera provides me with an endless amount of well-intentioned time wasting. It never fails that I brave their garage in order to find some useful tool and instead end up waist-deep in a genealogical avalanche of my own making - ours is less a family tree and more a family quicksand pit.
I find it all fascinating but take particular interest in the photos. It is wonderful to see pictures of one's grandparents as school children. It is hilarious to see one's parents as awkward teenagers. It is in equal measure interesting and unsettling to stumble across a picture of an unknown and distant relative only to realize that he is the genetic explanation for one's crooked teeth and nose. It is even more disturbing to discover a picture of one's great-great grandfather as he lie peacefully in his coffin with a spray of calla lilies trembling on the verge of their own demise.
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| Hiya, Gramps! Not feeling too well, huh? |
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| Even better than the photograph, is the fact that it was turned into a postcard - ostensibly as a souvenir for the mourning friends and family who were unable to attend the funeral. |
Is it better or worse do you think, the obviousness of his condition in this photograph rather than the slightly earlier photos of the Victorian-era bodies lovingly propped up into startlingly-lifelike positions and situations? "Be damned cholera, this husband and wife loved to recite the works of Shakespeare by lamplight," they seem to say from beyond the grave. It is all so delightfully ghastly.
I never considered my family particularly macabre but we grew up with several reminders of death around the house, including this little gem.
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| "At Rest" This Victorian coffin plaque/casket plate continues to hang on the bath...er, restroom door. I definitely come by my appreciation for the absurd honestly. |
Do you have any family photos of this nature? Do they spook you or intrigue you? However you feel about post-mortem photos, we hope that you have a picture-perfect Halloween!
Cheers!
Mr. Tiny
My family is Polish and though my grandparents immigrated to America, their siblings didn't so they were sent more than a few coffin pictures from family that stayed in the "old country".
ReplyDeleteThat is so cool! My brother's girlfriend is Polish; I'll have to see if she has any similar photos!
DeleteMy Husband is a big fan of these but they are just a tad dark for me.
ReplyDeleteYeah, they are pretty creepy!
DeleteSame as Karen above, my parents had a lot of coffin poses. But not just memories from funerals they couldn't attend back home, but of whole groups of living and somber looking people standing beside open coffins here in America. It never seemed strange to me till a high school boyfriend saw one and freaked out. That's when I realized Americans maybe don't do this sort of thing? I don't know, my people said it was a last chance to remember them since heaven could be a long way off for those of us who remain.
ReplyDeleteI think it is pretty cool to be able to combine family history and boyfriend freak outs all in one place! They are a macabre memento but I totally understand the sentiment of remembering the deceased until we meet again.
DeleteI've always been fascinated by postmortem photography, it's such a strange idea, but so compelling.
ReplyDeleteI think the real fascinating part is how the practice comes into and falls out of favor. Who thought, "Hey, this is a great idea?"
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