The most fascinating portion of the lecture was devoted to post mortem photography. At this time most people never had a photo or portrait done of themselves while living but both were common after death. This was quite expensive, $5 for a daguerreotype, which was more them most workers weekly pay. And the photo had to be taken quickly after death. As photography developed the photos themselves could be used in different ways. People hung them on their walls, wore them as lockets, and made them into watches. Families wore proud of these photos and mailed as many as they could to family and friends too far away to attend the funeral. Mr Ward showed many examples of these photos. Mothers and Fathers holding dead infants, even posing dead infants with a sibling(how traumatic). It is worth noting that the infant mortality rate in America during the 1800s was 30 to 50%. Many families did not name a child until he or she had survived for at least a year.
Families also saved the deceased hair, creating wreaths, lockets, and key fobs to decorate the house and carry as a memento of the lost loved one. Funeral homes sold wreath frames to wrap the hair around and these wreath were passed from one generation to the next.
This may seem odd and morbid to us now but if the Victorians dragged out the mourning period to extremes at least they did not drag the death process out like we do today. Keeping the dying alive on machines and massive cocktails of medication seems almost more morbid to me then carrying around a post mortem photo or locket of hair.
Now I must give a plug for the Wornall House. Located at 6115 Woranll Rd. it was built in 1858 by John B Wornall for his bride, Eliza. The house is open for tours Tuesday through Sunday for a small fee. Among the contents of the house is a hair wreath and several lockets containing hair. The story of the house is very interesting if you like history.
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