01 June 2011

Mourning daguerreotype

Most of the Victorian mourning photos I have seen have depicted a deceased child.  This one is a bit different in that the father holds the motherless child in front of a folk art painting of the deceased mother.

Via Mrs. and Mr. 19th Century, via Fuck Yeah, Victorians!

4 comments:

  1. ZhoenJune 1, 2011 at 10:34 AM

    If the father holds the child, is that a correct usage of "orphaned?"

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  2. MinnesotastanJune 1, 2011 at 1:00 PM

    Good point. Your comment prompted me to look it up. My dictionary defines it as losing both parents through death "or, less commonly, one parent."

    I'm tempted to revise it to "hemi-orphaned." But I'll put "motherless."

    Tx.

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  3. davidJune 4, 2011 at 7:30 AM

    keep up the good work

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousJune 6, 2011 at 11:43 AM

    I can't get past the still-heartbroken, devastated look on the father's face - that terrible combination of bereavement and "oh my god, what am i going to do with this child now?".

    ReplyDelete