Featured Some of my favorite Victorian photos with a few questions.

I have several Victorian albums with mostly carte de visite and tintypes.
Being an antique jewelry collector I love looking through them and admiring the jewels and clothing.
Here's a few of my favorites but I have a few questions on a couple of them.
First, the first young girl just looks so odd, the whole thing seems a painted or drawn print and there are two of them in the album so they were copies. The cat looks totally drawn in.
Also, why did they put tiny pinpricks in the second baby's eyes, to make him look more alert ?
I don't think it's a post mortem but on close-up his hands are rather lax and darkened so I don't know.
Now, the rest are just fun.
Check out the jewelry and dresses on these ladies and the gentleman in black is fantastic.
I really like the last little girl, not only sweet but the woven coverlet she's sitting on has a twin in my living room.

 

Great pictures.
I do think the little boy is post mortem... his little hands ARE limp and dark, and just so still... I like the idea that you're caring for him.
#3 is a babe. "Tall hair", too.
I love Granny with the glasses. Adorable. I Google StreetViewed the address in Fall River but it's apparently replace with a freeway.

 

I was told by an antiques dealer that the very poorest of families had their photos taken.
Apparently they would hire the outfits as they would be too poor to own such finery.

 

Nice photos, thanks for sharing!

 

I think the first one is slightly out of focus - making things look less distinct than one might hope.

I say that because there was obviously something wrong with the focus for the last picture too. The child is just a bit less focused than the fabric behind her. I suppose there might have been some slight movements of the subject (the cat in particular) but not enough to make the moving parts a total blur.

 

One of these albums come from a family from the Fall River area. They look to be upper middle class, maybe they knew Lizzie Borden or her family ? Fun to think about.
Here's a higher resolution of the second baby.
Still undecided.

 

Bakersgma, I'm going to try to get a better scan of the 1st girl. The scan came out a bit blurred.

 

I knew nothing about Post Mortem photos so that started me Googling about them.

Creepy but fascinating /interesting.

 

Yes it is Poisonivy.
Here's a higher resolution of the first girl.

 

Thank you

 

I just saw something about post mortem photos on tv. Apparently poor families who could not afford any pics of their family while alive, got one when they passed as the only way to remember them. The one I saw was in a casket and to be honest, it gave me the willies.

The dude with the hair and beard looks abit like honest Abe sorta.

 

I meant the focus at the time the photo was originally taken, not your scan.

 

I was working on Ancestry the other day and one search brought up a picture (late 20th century) of the woman in her casket. I really didn't need to see that.

I am not a big fan of open casket viewings. When my grandmother died in 1973 my mom practically had to drag me (I was in my mid-20's) over to see "how good she looks." Not in my opinion by a long shot. I made sure my mom knew how I felt about it too. Maybe she changed her mind, because both she and Dad (who predeceased her) were cremated.

 

I knew that Bakersgma but the scan was also blurry.

 

I had both Burns Archives Sleeping Beauty books and sold them years ago. Really wish I hadn't.

 

Okie dokey.

 

I have some edwardian photos:

Do you know what uniform the first guy is wearing?

 

Don't know about the uniforms, but these fellas are easy on the eyes.

 

Just guessing, but it could be that if the second baby's photo was post-mortem, his eyes were closed.
The pin-pricks disguise the closed eyes, and make him look alive...sort of.

 

I see what you mean about the cat. Does look drawn in -- or possibly someone somehow enhanced the cat in the photo? No idea really, but something is going on.