Here we have a rare and unusual tintype of a spirit starting to appear over the shoulder of the lady sitter. I don't have to tell you how rare it is to find these images in the wild. They're usually already snatched up and stored in collection. And you can see why. It's so crazy how obsessed the old timers were obsessed with the afterlife. The swindlers were ready to give it to them, and they ate it up. I absolutely love the murkiness of this one. My guess is it's a son trying to get through to his mother. It makes sense, given the aftershocks of the Civil War, which really propelled the Spiritualism movement. I mean, look at how sad she is. A stunning piece that you'll admire for ages.
The rare antique photograph comes out of a Chicago estate containing some very rare and unusual photography. My guess is the rare tintype came out of the 1870s.
Here's more about Spirit Photography, courtesy of Wikipedia:
Spirit photography (also called ghost photography) is a type of photography whose primary goal is to capture images of ghosts and other spiritual entities, especially in ghost hunting. It dates back to the late 19th century. The end of the American Civil War and the mid-19th Century Spiritualism movement contributed greatly to the popularity of spirit photography. The omnipresence of death in the Victorian period created a desire for evidence of the afterlife, and those who partook in Spirit Photography oftentimes hoped to receive images that depicted the likeness of a deceased relative or loved one. Photographers such as William Mumler and William Hope ran thriving businesses taking photos of people with their supposed dead relatives. Both were shown to be frauds, but "true believers", such as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, refused to accept the evidence as proof of a hoax.
As cameras became available to the general public, ghost photographs became common due to natural camera artifacts such as flash reflecting off dust particles, a camera strap or hair close to the lens, lens flare, pareidolia, or in modern times, deceptions using smart phone applications that add ghosts images to existing photographs.
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The unusual tintype photograph with paper casing measures about 4 1/2" tall, and just over 3" wide. There is some slight wear from age throughout the tintype. The paper casing on the reverse has a tear from loss. However, the sharpness of the image really pops and breaks through all of it. Especially the haunting ghost! Please see all pics as they are part of the description.
I ship FedEx to street addresses in the continental USA only (no PO boxes). The rare tintype will be shipping housed in a hard sleeve. Free shipping on the unusual 19th century spirit photograph.
Rare as hens teeth. This image is so hauntingly good it's scary.
