A glimpse into Victorian post-mortem photography

TW: This article contains themes and graphic descriptions such as death, grief, loss, and elements of illness, particularly of loved ones, for the purposes of interest and education, please read at your own discretion. 

Nowadays when we think of post-mortem, we may think of an examination into a murder most foul, but back in the Victorian ages, it was just one of the ways to keep a token of remembrance of loved ones who have passed1.  

Lasting from 1837-1901, the Victorian Era was littered with illnesses such as scarlet fever, tuberculosis, typhus, and typhoid2. The Victorian people were quite familiar with death; and in fact, death a few hundred years ago was not the hospital type imagery we think of now. Death commonly happened at home, with bodies even remaining at home while funeral preparations took place, making it all the more familiar to people of the time. Though seemingly morbid to us, death was quite a normality in the Victorian period; just another stage of life. Post-mortem photography was also known as “memento mori”, meaning “remember you must die.” Painting portraits of loved ones was very common, and the wider accessibility of photography in the 1800s just made the process of immortalising family and friends through art quicker and cheaper. The fashion of photography to commemorate loved ones was spread through post-mortem photographers taking on the slogan: “Secure the shadow, ere the substance fades.”  

Photographing the dead was not just simply popping them in a casket and flashing a quick picture. Infant deaths were extremely high – with 274 deaths every 1000 births – drastically great compared to the mortality rate in 2020 (4 deaths per 1000 births)3. As a result, a lot of post-mortem pictures were of infants who unfortunately couldn’t leave many memories, so the only method for some sort of keepsake was photos after death. Since this was a way for Victorian people to remember their loved ones for their whole lives, great effort was put into making the dead ones seem peaceful and content. Dead children could be posed with their favourite toys or with their whole family surrounding them (a style of photography also known as “mourning tableaux”). However, it is often difficult to pose dead people due to the heavy weight of a dead body and rigor mortis (the stiffening of the body 2-6 hours after death), leading to a method known as the “last sleep”. Deceased eyes were closed as they lay in a bed or in a family member’s arms. This gave the impression of a peaceful sleep, akin to a popular Christian belief in the Victorian era that death was a way to make peace with God. Other techniques were also used, such as adding blush/tint to the cheeks to give the flush of life, or sometimes even painting eyes on closed eyelids4 to open the window to the soul. These homey scenes allowed family members to create a last peaceful memory with their loved ones.  

The trend of post-mortem photography has died down a lot since the Victorian era, with the advancements in society leaving post-mortem photography redundant. Back in the Victorian era, children died at home and not in designated hospitals. Better healthcare allows for dead bodies to be stored separately in morgues until funeral preparations have been completed, which limits the opportunity to take post-mortem photos - although in some cases of still-births post-mortem photos are still arranged today. Additionally, developments in technology have led to lots of memories being made and stored while loved ones are alive. That way, they can be remembered in their own personal style.  

In the end, no matter how we grieve, we must all recognize the objective truth of death. All we can do is keep the ones closest to us immortalized through little keepsakes and most importantly, the memories they left us with. As Thomas Campbell said: “To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die.”5 

References: 

1. Robbie Gorr, “Understanding the Victorian Tradition of Post-Mortem Photography.” FamilyTree, https://familytreemagazine.com/photos/post-mortem-photography/ 

2. “Life for children in Victorian Britain - Glad ur not… diseased.” Birmingham City Council, https://www.birmingham.gov.uk/info/50139/explore_and_discover/1609/life_for_children_in_victorian_britain/6#:~:text=Often%20working%20for%2012%20hours,untreatable%20killers%20150%20years%20ago 

3. Aaron O’Neill, “Child mortality rate (under five years old) in the United Kingdom from 1800 to 2020.” Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1041714/united-kingdom-all-time-child-mortality-rate/# 

4. “Death Photography - The 1800s Obsession with Death.” Notes From The Frontier, https://www.notesfromthefrontier.com/post/death-photography 

5. Thomas Campbell, Poem, “Hallowed Ground” Line 35-36