why when someone died was their picture taken?

Question

like back in the day like the 1900 when someone died their pic was taken when they were dead why?

Answer 1

Victorians had elaborate mourning customs.
Photos of infants or other loved ones in decorated frames would be displayed. Often the town photographer was enlisted to memorialize the death of a loved one because, particularly in the case of the death of a child, often times this would be the only picture one would ever have of that person.
After a funeral the room would be aired and before it is used again, the walls, ceiling and paintwork would be completely redecorated.
Widows wore mourning for two years. Diamonds and pearls were frequently worn with very deep mourning, but gold was not worn until a year had passed.
A widow was not expected to go in public until after three months had passed. Even then her visiting was confined to relatives and close friends. She would gradually appear avoiding dances and balls for at least a year.
Children, daughters-in-law or sons-in-law, parents would wear mourning clothes for a year. Ten months black, the last two gray, white or mauve.

Answer 2

If you are in the US, the answer is simple. In settled stable European societies, when a person died he was already well known to all the people in the village he grew up with. But in America, a very mobile society, whenever somebody rode into town unexpectedly, and later died there, the people may not have known him very well. Questions might later arise about who this guy really was. People might also worry about whether they had buried the right man. So it made sense to do everything you can to keep a photgraph of the body. Maybe his sister would ride in on the next stagecoach to announce that the family had inherited a million dollars. You don't want any doubts about who the dead man had been.

That same need gave rise to the American adoption of the open casket at funerals. Observing the corpse by everyone in the community gave them assurance that the body being buried was indeed who it was supposed to be. If there was any doubt, a witness could speak up and say - that's not old Joe; it's just that homeless person who camped out at the river last week.

Answer 3

Photography was a still in its early years back at the turn of the century. People didn't have pictures of their loved ones lying around in drawers and albums because cameras hadn't been mass marketed yet, so if one wanted to have his picture made, it had to be done at some expense by a professional. Very often there were no pictures of the deceased, and the family chose to have the photographer come in and take a picture (it's called "memorial photography") so they would have a lasting image of their loved one.

Memorial photography is still practiced today, but for different reasons and not as widely. I could not tell you what those reasons are.

Answer 4

Some people have done same well after that. My G-pa took pic of G-ma. I suspect it helped him grieve. I could not keep it when I inherited it. I tore it up. No disrespect intended, I just feel it served it's purpose (for him to grieve) but made me sad and a other uncomfortable feelings. Didn't think I needed to have my kids and G-kids see it down the line.

Answer 5

My understanding was that due to lack of refrigeration and embalming wasn't then what it is today, there was only a short time for the remains to be viewed. Plus travel took longer for distant relatives. So it was a way to allow those not able to attend to witness the funeral process by proxy.

Answer 6

Actually, most well-to-do families had an Album of the Dead, where all the relatives who had passed were photographed after death as a sort of posterity, I think. I saw my famliy's old one, and when some illness killed a bunch of people, they had three infants posed in death side by side. For all of their morals, Victorians were sick people!

Answer 7

I've seen many of these pictures. Alot of children too! I found it to be so gruesome (I don't know why) but maybe thats why they don't much do it anymore. I think I was told that people back then wanted to try and keep the spirit captured. I think their beliefs were definately different.

Answer 8

this happened because no one owned cameras back then..and it was the only picture they may have ever had of their family
Usually undertakers were the ones who took the pictures and it cost alot to have your loved ones picture taken
Undertakers had cameras cause they sold photos of felons etc

Answer 9

A way to remember them I guess...still, it is kinda yucky. Sometimes it was done because the family had no other photos of them....

Answer 10

As a souvenir!