William H. Mumler (1832–1884) was an American spirit photographer who worked in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

and

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. His first spirit photograph was apparently an accident—a self-portrait which, when developed, also revealed the "spirit" of his deceased cousin. Mumler then left his job as an engraver to pursue spirit photography full-time, taking advantage of the large number of people who had lost relatives in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. His two most famous images are the photograph of

Mary Todd Lincoln Mary Ann Todd Lincoln (December 13, 1818July 16, 1882) served as First Lady of the United States from 1861 until the assassination of her husband, President Abraham Lincoln in 1865. Mary Lincoln was a member of a large and wealthy, slave-owning ...

with the ghost of her husband

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

and the portrait of Master Herrod, a

medium Medium may refer to: Science and technology Aviation *Medium bomber, a class of war plane * Tecma Medium, a French hang glider design Communication * Media (communication), tools used to store and deliver information or data * Medium of ...

, with three spirit guides. Mumler was eventually taken to court and tried for fraud and larceny. Noted showman

P. T. Barnum Phineas Taylor Barnum (; July 5, 1810 – April 7, 1891) was an American showman, businessman, and politician, remembered for promoting celebrated hoaxes and founding the Barnum & Bailey Circus (1871–2017) with James Anthony Bailey. He was ...

testified against him. He was later acquitted by a judge, and his photography career continued. Today, Mumler's photographs are recognized as fakes but they circulated widely during the last quarter of the 19th century and were marketed as objects of belief and visual curiosities both within and beyond the spiritualist movement. He later discovered a process, called the "Mumler Process", by which photo-electrotype plates could be produced and printed more easily.

Biography

Before beginning his career as a spirit photographer, Mumler worked as a jewellery engraver in

, practicing amateur photography in his spare time. In the early 1860s, he developed a

self-portrait A self-portrait is a representation of an artist that is drawn, painted, photographed, or sculpted by that artist. Although self-portraits have been made since the earliest times, it is not until the Early Renaissance in the mid-15th century tha ...

that appeared to feature the apparition of his cousin who had been dead for 12 years.Alt URL
/ref> This is widely credited as the first spirit photograph—a photograph of a living subject featuring the likeness of a deceased person (often a relative) imprinted by the spirit of the deceased. Mumler then became a full-time spirit photographer, continuing to work in Boston but eventually moving to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, where his work was analyzed by numerous photography experts, none of whom could find any evidence of fraud. Spirit photography was a lucrative business thanks to the enormous death tolls that resulted from the

, and the thousands of families who sought reassurance that their loved ones live on after death. Mumler's wife, Hannah Mumler, was also a famous healing medium, and conducted her own spiritual business in addition to the business of assisting her husband. Critics of Mumler's work included

, who claimed that Mumler was taking advantage of people whose judgment was clouded by grief. Barnum's accusation was one of many in a chorus of voices that had accused Mumler of staging ghosts of people who were still in fact living, and breaking into houses to steal photos of deceased relatives. According to

Joe Nickell Joe Nickell (born December 1, 1944) is an American skeptic and investigator of the paranormal. Nickell is senior research fellow for the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry and writes regularly for their journal, ''Skeptical Inquirer''. He is als ...

"Mumler was exposed as a fraud when people recognized that some of the supposed spirits were still among the living." Mumler was eventually brought to trial for

fraud In law, fraud is intentional deception to secure unfair or unlawful gain, or to deprive a victim of a legal right. Fraud can violate civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrator to avoid the fraud or recover monetary compens ...

in April 1869. Barnum testified against him, having hired

Abraham Bogardus Abraham Bogardus (November 29, 1822 – March 22, 1908) was an American daguerreotypist and photographer who made some 200,000 daguerreotypes during his career. He was trained in the daguerreotype process by New Yorker George W. Prosch, who ...

to create a picture that appeared to show Barnum with the ghost of

to demonstrate the ease with which such spirit photographs could be created. Those testifying in support of Mumler included Moses A. Dow, a journalist whom Mumler had photographed. Ultimately Mumler was acquitted because the prosecution could not prove beyond all doubt that he was fabricating the photographs. Following the trial, some sources reported that he was disgraced and died penniless, while others state that his business took off then, due to the publicity of the trial. Mumler continued working in photography, and later discovered a process by which photo-electrotype plates could be produced and printed as easily as woodcuts (known as the "Mumler Process"). He died on May 16, 1884, and his obituary focused on his photographic contributions in general, making only a passing reference to the earlier spirit photography scandal in the last line. ("The deceased at one time gained considerable notoriety in connection with spirit photographs.")

Photographs

Ghost of Abraham Lincoln

Mumler's most famous photograph apparently shows

with the "ghost" of her husband,

. Paranormal researcher Melvyn Willin, in his book ''Ghosts Caught on Film'', claims that the photo was taken around 1869, and that Mumler did not know that his sitter was Lincoln, instead believing her to be a 'Mrs Tundall'. Willin goes on to say that Mumler did not discover who she was until after the photo was developed. The

College of Psychic Studies The College of Psychic Studies (founded in 1884 as the London Spiritualist Alliance) is a non-profit organisation based in South Kensington, London. It is dedicated to the study of psychic and spiritualist phenomena. History British National Assoc ...

, referencing notes belonging to

William Stainton Moses William Stainton Moses (1839 – 5 September 1892) was an English cleric and spiritualist medium. He promoted spirit photography and automatic writing, and co-founded what became the College of Psychic Studies. He resisted scientific examination ...

(who has appeared in photographs by other spirit photographers), claim that the photo was taken in the early 1870s, that Mrs. Lincoln assumed the name of 'Mrs. Lindall,' and that she had to be encouraged by Mumler's wife (a

) to identify her husband on the photo. Although the image has been dismissed as a fraudulent

double exposure In photography and cinematography, a multiple exposure is the superimposition of two or more exposures to create a single image, and double exposure has a corresponding meaning in respect of two images. The exposure values may or may not be ide ...

, it has been widely circulated. In a letter to the Boston Record, Mumler claimed the photograph had been taken in late February 1872.Memphis Daily Appeal, March 11, 1872.

Master Herrod

Master Herrod was a young

from

Bridgewater, Massachusetts Bridgewater is a town located in Plymouth County, in the state of Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the town's population was 28,633. Bridgewater is located approximately south of Boston and approximately 35 miles east ...

photographed by Mumler in about 1872. One photograph, once developed, apparently showed Herrod in a trance surrounded by the spirits of Europe, Africa and America. The photograph was advertised for sale in ''The Religio-Philosophical Journal'' on August 24, 1872.

Other photographs

Other photographs by Mumler included pictures showing various spirits (including relatives, fiancés, actresses and spirit guides) with living sitters. Other well-known sitters include Moses A. Dow (editor of ''

The Waverley Magazine ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'') whose photograph apparently showed the spirit of his assistant Mabel Warren, and Fanny Conant, a well-known

from

, apparently photographed with the ghost of her brother Chas. File:John J Glover.jpg, John J. Glover with "ghost" of old lady. File:Mumler (French).jpg, Mrs. French with a child "ghost". File:Mumler (unidentified).jpg, An unidentified subject with two "ghosts". File:Mumler (Dow).jpg, Moses A. Dow with the "ghost" of his assistant. File:Mumler (Conant).jpg, Fanny Conant with the "ghost" of her brother.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mumler, William 1832 births 1884 deaths 19th century in Boston 19th-century hoaxes 19th-century American photographers American spiritualists Artists from Boston Hoaxes in the United States Paranormal hoaxes People acquitted of fraud