Friday, August 16, 2013

POST-MORTEM PHOTOGRAPH NATCHEZ

This is a photo of a cased post-mortem daguerreotype that I bought from a gentleman several years ago. According to him, the young girl was the daughter of a family from Natchez who owned one of Natchez' old (antebellum) homes. He said the home was located just outside the Natchez city limits, but he did not know the name or the owner of the house.

Apparently, post-mortem photographs of young loved ones were common and acceptable in the 1850s, which is about the date of this one.

Collecting artifacts from the past is a never-ending source of surprise and gratification; an artifact like this one is a perfect example.

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