Post-mortem photographs are images taken of people after death. Memorial and post-mortem photography was common from the birth of the daguerreotype in 1839 to the 1930s. Deaths were frequent in the 19th and early 20th centuries and many people – especially children – had no photograph taken of them while living.

Do people still do post-mortem photos?

Today, some Victorian death photos shared online are actually fakes — or they're photographs of the living mistaken for the dead. ... While many of us couldn't imagine doing this today, it's clear that this practice helped the Victorians with their grief during a time of great strife.

Why did people do post-mortem photos?

In an era when photos were expensive and many people didn't have any pictures of themselves when they were alive, post-mortem photography was a way for families to remember their deceased loved ones. ... Americans kept the photos in hard cases that they might display on their mantel or keep in private.