During the late 19th century photographic portraiture was often an expensive luxury. Few people would have their photographs taken except upon very special occasions. One of those occasions may well have been shortly after their death. Families who could afford to do so would have photographs of recently deceased kin taken as a keepsake. For many, this would be the only photograph of them. Corpses were often posed to give the impression that the subject was asleep. Children were frequently posed with siblings or favorite playthings. The look of horror and confusion on the faces of the living children is obvious.

The photos in this gallery are from sources scattered and varied. Some are from private collections, some from auction catalogs, and others are from archives predating the World Wide Web. I make no assertion of ownership or copyright for these images. These images were once compiled in one very large image gallery, but were separated into three separate galleries to reduce loading times.