User:Mswintosky/sandbox

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
Spanning back to the fifteenth century, it was customary to portray the deceased through paintings and drawings. This originated in Western Europe and quickly became a widespread practice throughout the continent, including Great Britain. These portraits were mainly restricted to the upper classes, including monarchs and clergymen. Upon the emergence of photography, this traditional practice became financially accessible to a wide range of social classes.

Post-mortem photography was particularly popular in Victorian Britain. From 1860-1910, these post-mortem portraits were much like American portraits in style, focusing on the deceased either displayed as asleep or with the family; often these images were placed in family albums. The study has often been mixed with American traditions, because the two are so similar.

Audrey Linkman observed a continuation of post-mortem photography in the inter-war years, indicating the practice was not limited to the Victorian Era in Britain. She was a strong supporter of Barbara Norfleet's research into the ethnic minorities and middle-classes of America, insisting that post-mortem photography remained popular among these groups for far longer than the upper classes who had previously been studied.

The extent of the popularity of postmortem-photography is difficult to discern. This is partially due to the fact that many instances are privatized within family albums as well as the role of changes in the social and cultural attitudes surrounding death. This could have resulted in the disposal or destruction of existing portraiture.

Iceland[edit]
It is believed that the popularity of professional post-mortem photography in the Nordic countries peaked in the early 1900s and later died out around 1940, transferring mainly to amateur photography for personal use. When examining Iceland's culture surrounding death, it is concluded that the nation held death as an important and significant companion. Throughout much of the nineteenth century, the country's infant mortality rate was higher than the rest of European countries. Consequently, death was a public topic that was considerably seen through Icelanders' religious lenses. There are many that believe Iceland's attitudes about post-mortem photography can be deduced from its earlier expressions in poetry of the above-average death rates.

In the early 1900s, it wasn't uncommon to read a local newspaper's obituary section and find detailed information regarding an individual's death, including instances where suicide occurred. This was indicative of the community's role in death, before societal norms shifted the experience of death to be much more personal and private. In 1940, there is rarely seen photographs of the deceased, their casket, or grave stone with some documentation of the funeral and wake. By 1960, there is almost no record of community-based professional post-mortem photography in Nordic society with some amateur photographs remaining for the purpose of the family of the deceased. (Cite)

How post-mortem photography began in Iceland remains uncertain, but these photographs can be traced to the late nineteenth century. The practice of post-mortem photography in Iceland and the Nordic countries occurred during the same times it was practiced in a variety of European countries, those of which dated these customs back centuries. As for Iceland, the role of visual art was not nearly as expansive with a select few examples dating back to medieval manuscript illustrations or memorial tablets of the 1700s. These examples were mainly restricted to experts in the field and were not consumed by the greater community.

Sigfus Eymundsson has been regarded as the pioneer of professional post-mortem photography in Iceland. His work includes thousands of glass plate photographs as well as those taken with modern techniques, documenting the deceased and their funerary processions. As the practice of handling and caring for the dead transferred from the responsibility of the family to that of the hospital staff, the style of photographs changed as well. It became customary for a hospital staff member to take a photograph of a deceased child for the grieving family. Most photographs of the deceased were taken of them up close lying down on a bed or chest and mainly consisted of children, teenagers, and some elderly persons. Eymundsson has multiple apprentices, but the practice was suspected to die out in these individuals as it posed an arduous task with great emotional strain.

A large regional collection of professional and private post-mortem photographs are contained in the Reykjavik Museum of Photography while others are displayed in the National Museum of Iceland. These displays are primarily composed of photographs of funerals and wakes rather than the deceased.

Reference/Citations to Add to Post-Mortem Photography

 * Already added a reference to cite a photo used on the page: Service, Matson Photo (1940). "Syrian bishop's remains (funeral). Corpse seated in church". www.loc.gov. Retrieved September 27, 2020. [oct. 12 2020]
 * No reference for other photo --> public domain, unknown source
 * Empty Hands and Precious Pictures: Post-mortem Portrait Photographs of Children - Nicole Brown (2009)
 * https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/6241/1/6241.pdf
 * Sourced from "A Grave Subject" 1882 George Bradforde --> add to history section, victorian era post-mortem photography of children died in the home
 * Can't find this online or through Pitt Cat
 * Audrey Linkman's "Photography and Death" - book available through Pitt Library with an entire additional copy of exposures --> add some photos?
 * https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/pitt-ebooks/reader.action?docID=851004
 * Audrey Linkman's "Taken from Life: Post-Mortem Portraiture in Britain, 1860-1910" - article available through Pitt Library
 * https://www-tandfonline-com.pitt.idm.oclc.org/doi/abs/10.1080/03087298.2006.10443484#aHR0cHM6Ly93d3ctdGFuZGZvbmxpbmUtY29tLnBpdHQuaWRtLm9jbGMub3JnL2RvaS9wZGYvMTAuMTA4MC8wMzA4NzI5OC4yMDA2LjEwNDQzNDg0P25lZWRBY2Nlc3M9dHJ1ZUBAQDA=
 * Add to Great Britain section of article (or take that section out completely? very short and gives no new info)
 * This reference is already included, but includes a very broad statement that is non-informative --> use to clarify a point or fact check existing edits?
 * The History of Photography from 1839 to the Present - Beaumont Newhall (available at Frick Library)
 * might not be helpful, could provide an anthology of sorts
 * Secure the Shadow: Death and Photography in America - Jay Ruby
 * Already in ref. section --> could use to clarify a point or fact check existing edits or add more supporting or even new material