![]() ![]() The second chapter consists of news clippings, most from the U.S. ![]() The intervening chapters are reprints of press clippings, primary texts, and a generous number of plates/figures without direct commentary from Kaplan (although these materials are treated in the two essays). Mumler's case and Kaplan's text bring in a number of important questions: Where did Americans stand in terms of science and religion? Could photography help reveal the invisible? The introductory chapter, "Ghostly Developments," is a wide-ranging exploration of the cultural issues surrounding Mumler: spiritualism, science, the press, visual entertainments, and mourning and death. Kaplan's two essays sandwich an array of fascinating primary source material. In fact, Mumler's most famous image is of Mary Todd Lincoln with the ghostly apparitions of her deceased husband and son (Plate 1). Kaplan's book situates this odd practice of spirit photography at the nexus of cultural and photographic studies, and Mumler's story is a test case of secularism/spiritualism, science/belief during the period of the U.S. Mumler charged sitters a hefty fee, and he was put on trial for defrauding the public. ![]() These spooky images depict living sitters with their ghostly friends. In the mid-nineteenth century, William Mumler purported to be able to produce "spirit pictures" without trickery. ![]()
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