Preserving the Dead: Postmortem Photographs and Funeral Practices in 19th-Century America

Resumo

The rise of the modern funeral industry in 19th-century America introduced new forms of visual display that were designed to eliminate signs of bodily decay, and these prac- tices were remarkably similar to those of postmortem pho- tographers, who similarly sought to give bodies a lifelike appearance prior to burial. Postmortem photography can thus be understood as a transitional stage toward the mod- ern disappearance of death, yet this practice has not en- tirely gone away, as postmortem photographs are still used to preserve the dead by creating the illusion of presence rather than confirming the reality of absence. Through a closer examination of the parallels between postmortem photographs and funeral practices, this article will explore the ways in which photography continues to mediate the experience of death and mourning.