A portrait photograph of a seated elderly couple, possibly taken by William Hope (1863-1933) in about 1920.
A young woman's face appears as if floating above the sitters, draped in a cloak. Hope may have already held her photograph in his studio, or he may have asked the couple to supply photographs of deceased relatives under the pretence of using the image to contact the spirit world.
William Hope's (1863-1933) spirit album photographs use double and even triple exposure techniques to render the appearance of ghostly apparitions around the sitter. Hope founded the spiritualist society known as the Crewe Circle.
Hope's work gained momentum in the aftermath of World War One, a time when many bereaved people were desperate to find evidence of loved ones living beyond the grave. Although Hope's deception was publicly exposed by a private investigator, Harry Price (1881-1948), in 1922, Hope continued to practice.
Spirit photography began with William Howard Mumler (1832-1884) in 1861. This album, made in the 1920s, represents the tail-end of the phenomenon.
Photographer
Dead Persons
