Victorian Remembrance: The Art of Post-Mortem Photography (Pt. 3)

  Post-Mortem Photography: A Historical and Cultural Ritual of Grief ( Pt 4 ) HERE

Historical Context: Maternal and Infant Remembrance

In the 19th and early 20th centuries, the mortality rates were a universal concern. Unlike many other health challenges of the era that followed a period of illness, maternal mortality often affected healthy young women unexpectedly. These events were deeply felt, frequently leaving families to navigate the complexities of grief while caring for newborns and older siblings.

The Role of Commemorative Photography

To honor the brief lives of infants lost during this era, families often turned to commemorative photography. In an age before personal cameras were common, these portraits represented a significant sacrifice and a profound act of love. These images served as a vital "memento mori," providing the only visual record a family would ever have of their child—a way to preserve their memory and place within the family tree forever.

Cultural and Religious Reflections

The gravity of these events was even woven into the social fabric of the time. For instance, the Church of England’s prayer book long included a specific service for the "Churching of Women." This rite, which has only recently been phased out, traditionally began by offering thanks for a mother’s survival and recovery, illustrating just how precarious the journey of parenthood was considered to be:.

The decline of post-mortem photography was not a sudden event but a gradual shift that began in the late 19th century and was largely complete by the 1930s.

   

‘The safe deliverance and preservation from the great dangers of childbirth.’

  Post-Mortem Photography: A Historical and Cultural Ritual of Grief ( Pt 4 ) HERE

Historical Metrics in Maternal Healthcare (1800–1950)

For over a century and a half, maternal health outcomes served as the primary benchmark for evaluating the efficacy of maternity services. These figures were scrutinized by obstetricians as they sought to improve clinical standards. However, defining the parameters of these statistics presented significant challenges for early medical professionals.

The Evolution of Data Collection

Before the mid-19th century, obtaining accurate population data was a complex task due to the lack of a centralized national registry. Prior to the landmark Registration of Deaths Act of 1837, historians and medical researchers had to rely on localized "bills of mortality" or parish registers. These early records, while invaluable, highlight the transition toward the rigorous, data-driven healthcare systems we recognize today.

Victorian Mourning and Post-Mortem Photography Pt. 1 HERE

 Post-Mortem Photography: A Cultural History Pt. 2 HERE

 Post-Mortem Photography: A Cultural History Pt. 3 HERE

 Post-Mortem Photography: A Cultural History Pt. 4 HERE

The American Demographic Transition (1800–1950)

Like all modern, developed nations, the United States underwent a profound demographic transition from high to low levels of fertility and mortality. In the early 19th century, the average American woman experienced between seven and eight live births, while average life expectancy typically remained under forty years.

However, the American experience was unique for three reasons:

1. An Early Shift: The decline in fertility rates began exceptionally early, starting in the late 18th or early 19th century. In contrast, most Western nations—excluding France—did not see sustained declines until the late 19th or early 20th century.

2. A Unique Sequence: Unlike the typical demographic model where mortality rates drop first, America’s fertility decline preceded its mortality decline. A sustained, irreversible downward trend in mortality did not begin until approximately the 1870s.

3. Migration and Expansion: These shifts were uniquely shaped by high levels of net in-migration and significant population redistribution, first toward the frontier and later into rapidly growing urban and suburban centers.

Victorian Mourning and Post-Mortem Photography Pt. 1 HERE

 Post-Mortem Photography: A Cultural History Pt. 2 HERE

 Post-Mortem Photography: A Cultural History Pt. 3 HERE

 Post-Mortem Photography: A Cultural History Pt. 4 HERE

I'm dead and I'm here ! Headstones: Why Cemeteries Are the Last Witnesses of Our Existence

The headstone/gravestone marks the place where a grave or tomb is placed. They are traditionally used by most religious people and they became part of the funerary tradition and business. The gravestone is the way a family honors the deceased by putting this eternal memorial on“the last place to rest”. This is a tradition that I think we should keep alive.

Just think about it, from here to a hundred years, future generations will probably find our destroyed coffins, our bodies… bones and wonder if we were male or female?, who we were?, when did we died? and more. Part of the objective of the gravestones is not only for ID purposes (so the family can visit the body without forgetting the place) but because the human being has a fear to be forgotten. For most of us, documentation and a gravestone will be the only proof for the next generation that we existed once upon a time.

Most of the world’s population won’t enjoy a massive popularity, not even in their hometown but we will have a family that will remember and have us present in every important milestone in their life but if we are truly lucky, there will be someone who will want to know more about us even after we are gone.

When people started to make headstone, they started out by making them from simple materials and simple designs with symbolisms. From pieces of stone to carved wood, we manage to level up this important cemetery piece. In the old, old days when body snatching was fashionable; families even built cages on top of the graves.

Headstones nowadays are made from different materials: Fieldstones, Granite, Marble and Slate.  In the beginning all tombs had a stone lid, if the coffin was completely made of stone or not, this stone lid was placed over the grave. Stones were used to mark where a body was buried; they were placed around the grave and just marked with a name or initials (that's sad).

One important element on a headstone is the identification of the deceased person, the day of birth and death, a prayer or specials words by the family, a photo and finally a place to put flowers. Most people decides to put a little fence or something to surround the grave this way other cemetery visitors won’t step on a person’s last resting place.

Having a gravestone was and still is a symbol of wealth, the bigger the better. Some people used to buy expensive material and used designs that become traditional but were very symbolic, like skulls, birds, angels, flowers, praying hands, crosses, etc. The headstone evolved into pieces of art. Big or small, the sculptures that some graves have are beautiful and incredible. If you take a walk on a graveyard you will see sculptures of angels, Saints, hands, books, beds, Greek columns and more.

Photos by: www.7fotos.blogspot.com

Sadly, there are more and more people going for cremation “Today, nearly all of the deceased receive some sort of burial or cremation even if it is paid for by the state. The cost of land and the current overcrowding in cemeteries, along with changes in perception, have made people consider cremation.  Cremations are less expensive than the cost of caskets and plots.” -247wallst . 

 I say sadly because XXI century people are opposite to the way The Victorians were during the 1800’s (Click to read more) ; people now hate death, they don’t want to talk about it, it’s scary and a morbid issue that shouldn’t be a topic of conversation…at all! So with that mindset, the sooner a body goes underground and if people don’t have to deal with a corpse THE BETTER! Cremation means that families won’t have to set a foot on a graveyard and that means that there will be one less proof of a person existing or worst; the neglect of cemeteries. Let’s face it, yes…we will have photos, facebook profiles and documents but none of them will truly express the love of a mourning family for the decease the way a headstone does. It will have a direct effect on people's way to see death; probably it will make people colder. Where our feelings will go if we cannot mourn in a place made for that?

Makeup is a not XXI century issue.

Mankind has always sought to excel in different areas of science, economics, medicine. Always looking to improve their social, economic and political status. But there is one area that is not spoken of. How the personal image of women  played an important role in society so that they could excel from the rest.

The research and studies about makeup (cosmetics) show that they have been around since the ancient Egypt.  Apparently everything began with the discovery of scented oils. The realized (or believed) that this scented oils had healing characteristics. Not only they were used for medicinal purposes but they used them for their religious rituals, the same happened with herbs, the not only consume them but they use them to apply the paint . Women and men started to apply to their face and bodies some kind of clay in different colors. This proof was found in Egyptian tombs and we also have the old drawings that show how they decorated themselves with the colors and shapes.

The Greek,Asian, Romans and Arabic cultures followed the medicinal/beauty rituals. During the 18th-Century pale skin was fashionable, even men used it! This white makeup was called Venetian Ceruse, it was made famous by Queen Elizabeth I. The upper class painted their face, neck and chest until it was completely pale, like porcelain. The Venetian Ceruse powder was mixed with vinegar which created a milky white powder. While today lead is considered a very lethal toxin, back in the 18th century the dangers of lead were very often overlooked.

During Queen Victoria’s mourning period, she declared that painted faces were vulgar. That a minimalist look (clothing and makeup) had to be the new rule. The Industrial Revolution made the mass production of cosmetics possible although many people continued to make cosmetics at home. However in the 19th century some people disapproved of women wearing makeup and it was often sold under the counter. The film director D.W. Griffith invented false eyelashes in 1916. Women have dyed their nails for centuries but modern nail varnish was invented in 1917. The French manicure was invented in 1975. Meanwhile modern lip gloss was invented in 1930 and went on sale in 1932.

Between the World Wars, women turned to beauty products, encouraged by flawless models featured in luxury fashion magazines.  In the 1950s and 60s television brought advertisements for cosmetics and hair products to people’s homes. Today, the products supplied by the cosmetics industry , from soap and bath oil to toothpaste and shaving foam play an important role in our daily personal hygiene routine.

Mascara from brand leaders such as Maybelline was an imperative cosmetic to have in your handbag. Though it wasn’t until the 1960s that women applied it again to lower lashes again ( like in 1920’s ). Loads of newly patented cosmetic tools like eyelash curlers and eyebrow stencils helped young women achieve the look of whatever starlet took their fancy.

Nowadays, women use makeup as they please. There is obviously beauty standards made by the cosmetics corporation and trends according to the seasons but it became a form of creativity. Some women want to look as natural as they can, some use vintage makeup style and others try to create trends.The question now is: 

• Why do women wear makeup? Is it because we want to look better or we want to be a different person? 

• Our makeup has become a mask to hide more than spots and freckles?

What's your style? 

www.localhistories.org

www.cosmeticseurope.eu