A Ghostly Portrait of Abraham Lincoln (1872)
In the mid to late 1800s, spiritualism, the hope to connect to the “other side” and communicate with deceased loved ones, collided with advancing technologies in portrait photography. With a little creative license and some photographic technological skill, the two merged to create ‘spirit photography.” One of the customers hoping to capture the essence of a loved one was Mary Todd Lincoln, widow of assassinated president Abraham Lincoln.
This image of Abraham Lincoln’s “ghost” was captured by William H. Mumler, a Boston photographer, in the early 1870s. Mumler had built a reputation for capturing ghosts in pictures. Skeptics unsuccessfully tried to expose his trick techniques, but none at the time could figure out his method and dispel his ability to photograph spirits. Grieving families, including Mrs. Lincoln, clamored for his services. As people figured out his methods for capturing ‘spirits,’ Mumler would be tried – and acquitted – for ‘photographic deception.’
