The Strange Case of William Mumler, Spirit Photographer

by Louis Kaplan

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)

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Photography, Paranormal, Biography

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Emma Nebelung · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book presents a very mutual perspective on the William Mumler case.

[Desy Icardi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ottimo lavoro di ricerca storica.

[Bill Sleeman · Rating 3 out of 5]

William Mumler and his spirit photographs (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William...) make for a wild side trip in American history. Kaplan’s book provides a good introduction for those unfamiliar with Mumler and offers a solid overview of Mumler's place in the history of photography generally (the author’s academic area of interest). The author is effusive in his praise of his editor but I suspect that said editor might have done a better job by Kaplan by toning down the many (and annoying) ghost/spirit puns in Kaplan's text. Once was okay…but the repetition of this stylistic choice eventually became distracting and drew my attention as a reader away from the author’s primary thesis. An okay book - the illustrations of Mumlers' work were very helpful but it would have been nice to have, at least at a minimum, images of the title pages of the works that were reprinted in this text.

[David Burkam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two new (very) academic essays bookending important historical readings on spirit photography, including writings by Mumler & P.T. Barnum, and court transcripts & newspaper articles from the court case. Fascinating reading.

[Miranda · Rating 3 out of 5]

If the title sounds interesting, you'll like it.