Photography PostMortem , Victorian Era 1837 to 1901, the period Great Britain’s Queen Victoria. In History- American Victorianism was an offshoot of this period and lifestyle that occurred in the United States, chiefly in heavily populated regions such as New England and the Deep South. The name was derived from the reign of Queen Victoria, which reflected the heavy British cultural influence on the nation during the time.
As American business people of the Second Industrial Revolution created sprawling industrial towns and cities in the Northeast, the growing upper class of the Gilded Age mimicked the high society of their former mother country in dress, morality, and mannerisms. The period included various activities: the Second Industrial Revolution, the Women’s suffrage movement, and Republican political domination.
Guest: Mike Ricksecker, Author
Host : Norene Sampiere Balovich
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I am a historian with a background in European studies at NTU in England. I studied the Victorian era as well as Georgian and Edwardian eras extensively. The idea that the Victorians took photographs of their dead posed as if living is a TOTAL MYTH. NEVER did the Victorians pose their dead standing or even sitting for that matter, and never did they prop their eyes open or paint eyes on their lids to make them look awake. Stands were ONLY used for the living to keep them posed and still for the length of time it took to take a photo. Often times the subjects eyes would be closed because the photo was taken when they blinked so the actual photo itself was touched up so their eyes looked open. The stand people claim held up the dead only weighs 30lbs and there's no way that could support a dead person. A TRUE Victorian PM has the decedent lying in a bed, on a lounge or in their coffin. On occasion parents would hold a deceased child. People who do not know any better are paying ridiculous amounts of money for these supposed PM photos and it's incredibly sad. PLEASE STOP believing everything you read on the internet!! And PLEASE STOP repeating it as fact!!! You are absolutely misinforming people and it brings question to the credibility of info you report on. I do love your paranormal content but the content on Victorian PM photos is wrong.
The woman doing the narration is dreadful.
Viewing the photographs is interesting. Hearing you two people talk is not interesting.
i have bought victorian photos off of ebay that i felt drawn to aswell:) thankyou Noreen xx
I had heard about this during a photography class I took in college but the topic was touched on lightly thank you for this wonderful informative video. Fascinating stuff👍🏻
This was a wealth of misinformation. Please verify your history before perpetuating the internet myths.
Shame you didn't talk about Undetakers…. O_o
Seeing your own Doppelganger is often considered to be a portent of death.
Whitby Jet was often used in mourning jewellery
There is another YouTube channel hosted by a female undertaker who describes how the process has changed in the USA. She advocates home funerals as they more intimately address the emotional needs of the living, and removes the science of some modern funery processes. It is still shocking to the modern eye to witness the decedent posed for photos. But people created mourning jewelry from hair, wore black onyx and used graduated colors (black crepe, grey, lighter purple) to indicate the period of mourning for those closest to the deceased. A period of one year was the average for women to mourn before they were eligible for the marriage market.
15:41 painted backdrops were very common in the theatre and later used in early silent movies. They were nothing new to the Victorians. Great show by the way.
Another great show. Different than most of the other shows on the channel here, but really fun to watch.
This was an excellent show! I actually learned a few things. But there were definitely some photos of living people that you thought were deceased. They used stands with both the living and dead so it's difficult to tell sometimes.
CREEPY pictures! But also so sad. Can't imagine only having a death photo of loved ones.
Mike and Vanessa show is also very good,Watch them also !!!!
Interesting!!! Learned so much!!! THANK"S
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Regarding the very sad and touching photo of the women with the dog, I think the woman in the center looking to the side is also dead. I saw that photo before and found it very odd that both the dog and the woman appeared to be deceased.
Victorian England..Death Photography……they were propped up against a stand for that one last picture.
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-36389581
this is art.
Just discovered the show and I am hooked! This episode was very informative.
My father's side of the family still incorporates postmortem photography in our funeral practices. We still have photographs from the my grandfather's funeral and I often look at them when I miss him. we didn't have that many photos of him when he was alive.
Hey Norene, Another fabulous show !! You are on a hot streak WOMAN <3. You mentioned Dave being at Vallesca- I cannot locate his video anywhere? I only just got the chance to watch this show today 5/15.
I so appreciate your respectful perspective on the photos of past loved ones I know understand what was trying to be captured in a dignified way
I just got to watch this tonight and WOW, so interesting! I had no idea about this and it was so educational and interesting. Thank you, Norene, for doing a show on this topic. I love all of your shows & always look forward to them! 👍🏼👸🏻😻 You have the best channel on YouTube & I'm so happy to see that your channel is growing in subscribers. Have a great week, Norene!! 👍🏼🙂😸
It is amazing how attitudes about death have changed in America in the last 150-100 years. People used to die at home, their bodies were prepared for burial at home and the wake and funeral were held at home. My grandmother remembered her little sister's casket being in the parlor and a horse and carriage coming to take her to the cemetery. Now, people in America are so afraid of death. Nowadays, people would think it was in appropriate and morbid to take a picture with a deceased family member. All the preparation for burial takes place behind the mortuary's back door.
damn, your guest is nice lookin
Hi Norene! Thanks for such an awesome show! Don't worry about the technical problems, your fans don't mind one bit! We are grateful for the content you provide! You're awesome!
My family is Russian.. my great auntie used to have a large mirror on the wall behind the kitchen table, she had photo's tucked inside the frame of MANY family members in their coffins. It was normal to us, as a kid it was creepy but still normal. Everyone would point a photo during a conversation and you would hear the stories and equate it with a face.. it always fascinated me… and again, creeped me out lol. There were few if any photos of them alive lol, I guess that was too much money for immigrants… but they did take the time to at least get one before they were buried. I don't so much mind and can understand these pics where ppl especially kids look like they are sleeping, but man, these of them standing like it was any other day, eyes open ARE a little much for me to understand, There is one photo that is often in these compilations online … it is a family laying in bed, they look like they were in some horrible accident, they all have terrible bruising all on the same sides of their heads. I thought maybe a roll over car accident, but it looks more like someone took a hammer to their heads, it really disturbs me. Another is of a woman who's face looks terribly burnt.. I wouldn't want that one as a keepsake LOL. THANKS NOREEN! Once again, great show 🙂
I wonder if your macbook is overheating from dust buildup inside the laptop. ive had laptops that did the same thing reboot and turned out the inside needed cleaning.
I'd seen where most of the popular post-mortem photos on the internet, really weren't.
There really was no way to keep a limp body upright or straight seated.
The brace was just to keep living people still for 15 minutes
orene, where's the link for Dave's new channel? ty
great show loved it!
Great show as always!
As usual very informative and wonderful show Norene! Per usual I caught the recorded version but still very enjoyable! Love you Norene! xoxoxox And yes would love to see a show about the crime stories, I am perfectly fine with it. I am not so very offended over the topic of mother's that murder children. It is all good…. it is called life and it sadly happens. You could never offend me hunny!
wonderful show just LOVELY!!
Mourning rules – that's why Scarlett O' Hara in "Gone With The Wind" shocked the people at the ball by wearing a red dress after her husband was killed in the war.
Great show Mrs. B, Mike R. We loved it all, especially how Death rituals, practices have changed from the Victorian Era up to now. The expense of a single photo was more than some poor family made in 6-months to a year. Things that everyone takes for granted now days. No Instant Cam's, Cellphones Selfies getting a simple picture was an all day long process not instantly like now. A stationary Camera could weigh several hundred pounds, were built in place. Sheets of glass or Tin as a negative then inconsistent development chemicals Ice to preserve bodies and Development Chemicals. Remembers no electricity or was just being put into use at this time. A light source is needed to project the Neg image onto the printed surface often done by Candle, Coal Oil lamps, things like that even sunlight to burn in a good print to the photo medium as a picture. Everything being done by hand very labor intensive. The way bodies were preserved, most not at all, how we got from hiding death now to celebrating it. Again great show Mrs. B and Mike happy that you did this as a change to include things we don't always think of as being part of the Paranormal World. CP
Love your show been here for 2 years.
Did the Villisca live podcast ever happen? Never saw the link for Dave's channel. So disappointed. 🙁
What happened to Dave's You Tube channel, Country Roads Paranormal TV? I was subscribed, and when I tried to go to it I got a message saying it was cancelled do to violating terms of service.
great show! is daves down for the night?