| Description |
1 online resource (357 pages) |
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text file rdaft |
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EPUB |
| Access |
Access limited to subscribing institutions. |
| Summary |
In the early days of photography, in the death-strewn wake of the Civil War, one man seized America's imagination. A "spirit photographer," William Mumler, took portrait photographs that featured the ghostly presence of lost loved ones alongside his living subjects. At a time when artists like Mathew Brady were remaking American culture with their cameras, Mumler was a sensation: the affluent and influential came calling, including Mary Todd Lincoln. It took a circuslike trial of Mumler on fraud charges, starring P. T. Barnum for the prosecution, to expose a fault line of doubt and manipulation. And even then, the judge's stunning verdict suggested no one would ever solve the mystery of how Mumler did it. This forgotten puzzle offers a vivid snapshot of America at a crossroads in its history, a nation in thrall to new technology while grasping desperately for something to believe in. |
| Note |
Publisher metadata. |
| Subject |
Mumler, William H.
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HISTORY / United States / Civil War Period (1850-1877)
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Trick photography -- United States -- History -- 19th century.
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Spirit photography -- United States -- History -- 19th century.
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Photographers -- United States -- Biography.
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Psychics -- United States -- Biography.
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| Genre/Form |
Electronic books.
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| ISBN |
9780544745988 (epub) |
| Standard No. |
9780544745988 |
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