This is the fifth time today that a website I've been on has mentioned "momento mori."

Should be "Memento Mori"...

I have studied photography techniques and props from the 19th century. The stand that you can see in these photos is a head clamp which holds the head of the sitter firmly so they don't move. With a 30 - 180 second exposure, the slightest wiggle can cause blurriness. I have several photos where the stand is visible, and the sitter is quite alive!

Seeing the stands isn't necessarily a sign that they are dead - that stand isn't sturdy enough to hold up 100 or more pounds of literal dead weight!

It could also be that the sitter blinked, and it merely appears that the eyes were closed. With the fireman, he may have had eye damage, or may have chosen to close his eyes during the exposure. Although he kinda does look chopped in half!

As to the stiff posture, this was a brand spanking new technology in the 1850's, plus men as well as women wore bands and corsets, which makes ANYONE looks stiff! You can see the "hand problem" in modern photos. What DO you do with these gangly appendages at the end of your arms? Hold a book or prop? Make a "shelf" to "hold up your head"? Dangle them uselessly?

The last fellow, with the dogs, may be squinting in the bright light required to capture an image in early photography, or in a rustic setting where a photo may be taken outside. He may have been recovering from an illness, or had a stroke, or just being comfy in his pose!

There ARE many post mortem photos around, usually in the coffin. This practice not only has NOT died out, but is actually picking up.

The Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep Foundation sends volunteer photographers to hospitals when requested to photograph stillborn or even dying children. While it sounds horrid, and is usually a sad and sobering time, the parents do regard the photos as their most precious possession, their only connection to an angel taken too soon. The photos are beautiful and tasteful, and are surely therapeutic to the grieving families!

The photos in this link are ok, but are not the greatest examples of photography from the era.

This flickr account has a lot of gorgeous and important photos and CDVs:

This image prompted the poster's comment in the article.

Some of these are so poignant.

Here's another

Very creepy

Creepiest

ZOMG!

When I was 9 years old my grandfather died. We children did not go to the funeral parlor. A while later I found a picture of him lying in his coffin. It fascinated me to see him in repose.

I did take pictures of Peter at the funeral parlor. And eerily, I had accidentally turned the camera to black and white so they look like they're from another era. It was the hardest thing I've ever done. From time to time, I do look.

Who do I talk to about setting up a post-mortem photoshoot of myself? I would love to be able to give my family a going-away present.

Great comments BC...thanks for the information.

Edit; Because of BC's comments I'm going to play devils advocate...

This appears to have been tampered with. The eyes are completely different contrast than the rest of the image, as if drawn on the photo itself.

This is just a kid that is asleep.

This appears to be a result of a huge flash...the dogs have the same "squinty" eyes.

This is just really sad.