Curiosities: Pictures of the Living Dead: “During Victorian times, when the camera was still seen as a novel oddity, the practice of taking pictures of the recently deceased as a memorial became commonplace. As time progressed and more people wanted to remember family members who had prematurely departed, it became commonplace to position dead bodies in life-like poses to simulate how these individuals were before they shuffled off their mortal coils.
Pay close attention to these photos. The bodies are positioned with heavy wire and stands and, in some cases, pupils have been painted on closed eyelids. “