Imagine you are part of a family in the early part of the Victorian age. Death is very much a part of your everyday life, thus making it easier to accept. The death rate practically matched the birth rate at this time. Most deaths occurred in young children from small pox and yellow fever and women in childbirth. Children were often ripped from the family before reaching their first birthday.

Another major cause of death occurred among soldiers and people with injuries that are minor ailments today. Amputations often went wrong and minor infections were mistaken for something more. Infections from a cut or scrape weren’t treated properly and morphed into serious infections which were life threatening, such as gangrene. Also bacteria wasn’t taken into consideration so nothing was done to prevent risks for infections.

Special etiquette revolved around death; these standards were practiced moreso by women than men. Women were thought to have more emotional pain than men. For at least a year after a husband’s death, the wife would have to stay in deep mourning, dressing in only black and only leaving the house to go to church and visit relatives. In the following year the wife would go into half-mourning and wear the colors gray, white, and purple. This mostly applied to immediate family, such as the death of the husband, child or sister. The men were required to wear black armbands to signify mourning.

These standards were practiced by commoners and high society alike; when Queen Victoria lost her husband, Prince Albert in 1861, she remained in mourning until her death. Most of England followed suit. Every single person was touched by the darkness and plague of the death of a loved one. No one was left out of the equation; the pain one had to deal with became so common to society as a whole.

The symphony repressed within someone was stored in trinkets and souvenirs of their loved ones. The most common memoriam was a photograph. In 1839, the first picture, the daguerreotype, was printed on a highly polished metal plate. Louis-Jacques Daguerre in France invented this process, and Americans madly embraced it.

Although it provided an accurate image, the daguerreotype process demanded care. Exposure time could take as long fifteen minutes. The daguerreotype’s popularity declined in the 1850’s when replaced by a cheaper process known as the ambrotype. An ambrotype was an early type of photograph made by imaging a negative on glass backed by a dark surface. Tintype, also known as ferrotype, was also incorporated. Tintypes are positive photographs made directly on an iron plate varnished with a thin sensitized film.

Before this great invention, only the wealthy had post-mortem portraits of their loved ones. Well-known artists would paint wealthy families and loved ones, but with photography, creating mementos became more accessible. It was much cheaper and quicker than painted portraits therefore allowing the lower class population their own mementos.

In most Victorian post-mortem photography, the deceased was shown peacefully sleeping. In deaths involving children, post-mortem photography was especially precious since little or no pictures were taken before their death. Most children were propped up and surrounded by their toys to give a more lifelike feel. Sometimes the parents or siblings were shown posed with the deceased child. A single negative could produce multiple prints enabling the family to send the picture to other relatives. Most pictures were thought to be a keepsake rather than an alarming reminder of short mortality.

Post-mortem photography occurs more often than not in today’s society and many people take interest in it. Obviously it’s very important to crime scene investigators and to the justice system as a whole. Many people have collections of post-mortem photography from the Victorian Era and are still working on expanding their album. Thomas Harris, a New York collector, explains his fascination, saying, “They are meant to be serene, and they are thought-provoking in appreciating the gift of life.”

Many post-mortem books were made in the 90’s including many photographs from the Victorian era and even now this photography is used in movies. These movies include feardotcom, The Ring and Se7en. Also many TV shows including Law & Order and CSI involve post-mortem photography. Death is as much a part of life today as in the Victorian Era, however the attitudes have changed dramatically.