Although I found this strange post mortem photograph on Tumblr, the faint watermark tells me that it is actually from the fabulous Thanatos Archives.
I’ve seen several post mortem photos of siblings in coffins, but I think this is the first time I’ve found one that shows an entire family.
Logically I would assume that there must have been some sort of accident, for both parents and child to have died simultaneously. What do you think?
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That is beautiful and very touching. I love the way that the mother has a protecting hand over the baby’s hands. What a lovely looking family they were too. Poor things, I wonder what happened to them? They all look very peaceful.
That is beautiful.
If it was an accident, what could it have been? Smoke inhalation? Poisoning? They appear untouched from any sort of physical trauma (but, perhaps, we just can’t see it).
Maybe they had an illness sweep through the household?
This is really touching. I usually look with a disconnected historical interest but this one made me think about my own families mortality. Sad.
I guess it was quite a heavy coffin.
I found this on Pinterest about the family “Saddest postmortem I have ever seen! The Keller Family: Emil, Mary, and 9-month old Anna Keller. Mary shot Emil through the heart, mortally wounded Anna, and then committed suicide. Gelatin silver print. Auburn, New York, January 25, 1894.” so sad
http://pinterest.com/pin/93660867222529762/ this is the pin
http://fultonhistory.com/newspaper%202//Auburn%20NY%20Bulletin/Auburn%20NY%20Daily%20Bulletin%201894/Newspaper%20Auburn%20NY%20Daily%20Bulletin%201894%20-%200147.PDF
Hi I found this old copy of this newspaper that concedes with the family in the picture. Truly a sad and violent tale. It sounds as though Mrs. Keller had severe emotional problems that were probably worsened with the birth of her child. The terms the paper uses sound like common terms to refer to postpartum depression coupled with another mental illness.
Oh my word. Ohhhh
Thank you so much for the link, that’s amazing. So tragic.
Possibly she had a type of schizophrenia, as she did not only seem depressed, but was experiencing delusions.