The April meeting of the NHSM Archaeology Club*….
Shortly after the birth of photography and coinciding with the end of the Civil War, curious images began appearing in people’s photographic portraits. These images often included hazy figures hovering in the background, or translucent forms waiting nearby. What was peculiar about these portraits, is that not all the subjects were present, or even alive. And so began one of the most compelling and controversial periods of photographic history. Were the spirit photographer’s fraudulent swindlers, preying on people’s grief? Or had they truly captured something or someone otherworldly?
Spirit Photography: the art or practice of producing images upon a photosensitive surface. In some cases, said images are said to resemble the pre-mortem state of those now dead. The forces aiding the appearance of such images are not understood. -Fred Gettings, Ghosts in Photographs
Sherry Insley is an artist and teacher at a local arts magnet high school, where she enchants teenagers with the magic of the darkroom and film photography. A graduate of MICA, she has worked as a professional photographer and art educator for over 20 years. Sherry is an avid collector of curiosities, particularly Victorian mourning jewelry. She has always been fascinated by the occult, scoundrels, scammers, and people who accidentally took pictures of real ghosts.
Mary Todd Lincoln, by William Mumler
Location
Online via Zoom