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[Postmortem Portrait of an Infant] (Overall in case)

Unknown

The J. Paul Getty Museum

The J. Paul Getty Museum
Los Angeles, United States

Posed as if sleeping peacefully, a small child rests her head against a crepe-covered pillow and her hands on a satin blanket.

"Secure the Shadow 'ere the Substance Fade," a popular advertising slogan, reminded customers that a daguerreotype portrait would last forever. Long after a child had grown or age had transformed youth, the daguerreotype would preserve the image of a loved one. The large number of postmortem portraits of children gives the slogan special poignancy, a sad reminder of the high mortality rates in the 1800s, particularly for children. The practice of postmortem photography persisted into the first decades of the twentieth century, particularly in African-American communities.

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  • Title: [Postmortem Portrait of an Infant] (Overall in case)
  • Creator: Unknown
  • Date Created: about 1855
  • Physical Dimensions: 6.8 × 5.6 cm (2 11/16 × 2 3/16 in.)
  • Type: Cased object
  • External Link: Find out more about this object on the Museum website.
  • Medium: Daguerreotype
  • Terms of Use: Open Content
  • Number: 84.XT.1582.7
  • Culture: American
  • Credit Line: The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles
  • Creator Display Name: Unknown maker, American
  • Classification: Photographs (Visual Works)
The J. Paul Getty Museum

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