Post-mortem Portrait of a Woman, anonymous, c. 1845 - c. 1855

daguerreotype, h 61mm × w 49mm More details

The practice of post-mortem photography in the 19th-century was a way of immortalizing the deceased on their deathbed. It kept a beloved dead person close by for a while longer. Particularly daguerreotypy, also known as mirror with a memory, yielded an almost tangible likeness. The little case was opened and the loved one was still there, nearby, and almost touchable.