an elderly lady resting in peace c1988 – photographer unknown
Toronto. In the latter part of the 1800s, photographers took final photos of the dearly departed. Some even specialized in the art. Last century, the desire seems to have passed as photography and prints became less technical, cheaper, and far more common. Occasionally a bereaved family member would snap a memento such as shown here.
The art of recording those recently departed was memorialized by a summer 2020 TV series called, “Dead Still” which told the story of a late 1800s Dublin photographer, Brock Blennerhasset who took such photographs on request.
Postmortem photography, was also a topic in our journal, Photographic Canadiana, a few decades ago.
