The Strange Case of William Mumler, Spirit Photographer - 9780816651573

In the mid-nineteenth century Spiritualism drew thousands of people from established churches into darkened rooms where a medium, often a friend or neighbor, put them in touch with the spirits of their dear departed. One by-product of this fascination with the spirit world was spirit photography, in which the ghost appeared standing behind or floating over the person sitting for the picture. Kaplan (history and theory of photography, University of Toronto) has gathered the documentation for the trial of one such photographer, William Mumler, who was tried for fraud in New York after a successful career in spirit photography. Using the trial records, Mumler's autobiography, newspaper accounts (including tabloids) and an article by P.T. Barnum, Kaplan lets the participants speak for themselves. He puts the events in historical context in the introduction and psychological context in his conclusions. By concentrating on this one unusual trial, Kaplan shows the diversity of belief at the time and the ways in which, even then, the popular press could affect public opinion. A fascinating story made even more so by the use of original material and many of the spirit photographs themselves. Annotation ©2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)