THE ARCHIVES: EXAMPLE MATERIAL
The College Archives are a unique collection of documentary material dating back to the earliest years of Victorian Spiritualism. We are in the process of digitalising the material, to make it available to educational & research institutions and eventually also the general public. This section of the website will be expanded accordingly.
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WILLIAM STAINTON MOSES COLLECTION
SPIRIT PHOTOGRAPHS
"It is the intention of the [...] authors of the catalogue to take a neutral and, especially, an unprejudiced attitude towards the topic. It was not their task to deny the belief in such photographic phenomena or, on the other hand, to support their reality. Within the limit of such a project, the motivation that gave birth to such images, the controversies and the historical background, should all be presented, [...] with the hope – and this would be a justification in itself – that the cultural value and historical uniqueness of such pictures is increasingly recognized"
(from Andreas Fischer's article on the material)
Album with spirit photographs obtained by William H. Mumler, Frederick A. Hudson, F.M.Parkes, Éduard Isidore Buguet a.o., c.1862-1880. The album belongs to the papers of William Stainton Moses, housed at the archive of the College for Psychic Studies (see legal note at the bottom of the page).
William H. Mumler (Etats-Unis): Two album pages (numbered 18 & 19) showing eight albumen silver prints
William H. Mumler (1832-1884) became famous for having taken the first spirit photography in 1861. He was a professional photographer in Boston and New York until 1879.
- Left page (18), upper left:
Mary Todd Lincoln with the spirit of her husband, President Abraham Lincoln, 1870-75
The widow of President Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865), Mary Todd Lincoln, was known for her interest in Spiritualism and had held séances at the White House. She visited Mumler's studio in the early 1870s under the assumed name of Mrs. Lindall. She was at first hesitant to identify the likeness as her late husband but, prompted by Mrs. Mumler, who was acting as a medium in a trance, soon declared the resemblance. This portrait was widely reprinted and circulated.
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- Left page (18), upper right:
Master Herrod with the spirits of Europe, Africa and America, 1870-72
Mumler described "Master Herrod of N. Bridgwater, Mass." as a young medium whose trance in front of the camera called up the spirits of Europe, Africa and America. American Spiritualists recognised the prominent place given to spirits in Native American and African cultures, and this image illustrates the kinship they felt toward their spiritual traditions. The picture was advertised for sale by Mumler in The Religio-Philosophical Journal, August 24, 1872.
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- Left page (18), lower right:
Moses A. Dow and the spirit of Mabel Warren, c. 1871
Moses A. Dow, the owner and editor of the literary journal The Waverley Magazine, is shown here with the spirit of his assistant and protegé Mabel Warren, who had died in 1870. Dow had testified for the defence at Mumler's trial for fraud in New York in 1869.
- Left page (18), lower left:
Mrs Fannie Conant, a well known Boston medium connected with the Spiritualist journal The Banner of Light, is seen here with the spirit of her brother Chas.H.Crowell, "fully recognised by all who knew him", 1870-1875
- Right page (19), upper left:
Herbert Wilson of Boston with the spirit form of a young lady, to whom he was engaged
- Right page (19), upper right:
Mrs. French of Boston with her son's spirit, c. 1870
- Right page (19), lower right:
John G.Glover, Quincy, Mass., with the spirit of his mother, 1870-1875
- Right page (19), lower left:
Charles H.Foster of New York with the spirit of Ada Isaak Menken, a prominent actress, 1870-1875
Frederick A. Hudson
William Stainton Moses (M.A.Oxon) and Mr and Mrs Parkes with a draped figure, recognised as the mother of the sitters, 1872-1873
Frederick Hudson was the first spirit photographer in England (and Europe). He started in March 1872 and produced a mass of images at least until 1879. (An account on his activity may be found in Georgiana Houghton's "Chronicles of the photographs of spiritual beings and phenomena invisible to the material eye", 1882)
This image shows the Rev.Stainton Moses, who chiefly experimented with Hudson. He published in 1874-1875 a series of articles on spirit photography, after he had examined several hundred of prints. In regard to Hudson he was convinced that a great number of photographs were either obtained under test conditions or that there was evidence of recognition. (The "extras" could be identified as portraits of deceased persons.)
Frederick A.Hudson
Alfred Russel Wallace with the spirit of his mother, 1874
The renowned scientist Alfred Russel Wallace, a signatory to the College's Articles of Memorandum, profoundly believed in the reality of spiritualistic phenomena. He has written about the image (in "A Defence of Modern Spiritualism" 1875, p.190-191):
"On March 14th, 1874, I went to Hudson's, by appointment, for the first and only time, accompanied by Mrs.Guppy, as medium. I expected that if I got any spirit picture it would be that of my eldest brother, in whose name messages had frequently been received through Mrs. Guppy. Before going to Hudson's I sat with Mrs G., and had a communication by raps with the effect that my mother would appear on the plate if she could. I sat three times, always choosing my own position. Each time a second figure appeared in the negative with me. (...) I recognised none of these figures in the negatives; but the moment I got the proofs, the first glance showed me that the third plate contained an unmistakable portrait of my mother, - like her both in features and in expression; not such a likeness as a portrait taking during life, but somewhat pensive, idealised likeness - yet still, to me, an unmistakable likeness."
F.M.Parkes and Mr. Reeves
Portrait of a man with a spirit form, 1872-75
F.M. Parkes had no experience in photography, until he learned it under direction of the spirits who communicated with him. He succeeded in taking spirit photographs from April 1872 onwards, mainly with the assistance of a certain Mr.Reeves, the proprietor of a dining–room near King's Cross in London.
The pictures showed only on rare occasions "fully developed forms" or clearly marked faces of deceased persons, like on the photographs obtained by William Mumler or Frederick Hudson. They had a crude design and showed flashes of light, white blurs or cloudy appearances, which sometimes had an allegorical meaning. Although the "unlikely character" of the images, Parkes had for some years a lot of success and was able to build his own glass house for the experiments. But he also took some photographs outside his home under conditions which convinced Stainton Moses of "the interference by the spirits with the plate".
Éduard Isidore Buguet
Auto-portrait of the photographer with the spirit of a lady, c. 1875
Buguet produced between 1873 and 1875 spirit photographs, mainly in his studio at the, Boulevard Montmatre in Paris, but also during a stay in June 1874 in London. Among others the scientist William Crookes went to Buguet and received his portrait surrounded by a spirit form.
In April 1875 Buguet was arrested for fraud and later sentenced, with his own confession, to imprisonment for a year and a fine of 500 francs. He stated that the spirit photographs were frauds, simply produced by double exposure. Either he dressed up his assistants to play the part of the ghost (after he learned form the sitters what they were expected to see on the plate) or he used a doll for this purpose. This figure was seized by the police in his studio.
In spite of the disclosures a lot of his clients remained convinced that Buguet had produced genuine spirit portraits. They believed that he was the victim of an organised conspiracy and forced to make a false confession. Anyway, after the trial (Buguet escaped for some time to Belgium) the photographer started to make "photographies anti-spirite". He now arranged openly photographs showing spirit forms or phenomena like telekinesis for the amusement of the public