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The Apparitionists: A Tale of Phantoms, Fraud, Photography, and the Man Who Captured Lincoln's Ghost
Paperback
Occult19th Century United States HistoryPhotography History & Criticism
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ISBN13: 9781328557063
Publisher: Mariner Books
Published: Oct 9 2018
Pages: 352
Weight: 0.61
Height: 1.00 Width: 5.30 Depth: 8.00
Language: English
In the early days of photography, in the death-strewn wake of the Civil War, one man seized America's imagination. A spirit photographer, William Mumler, took portrait photographs that featured the ghostly presence of lost loved ones alongside his living subjects. At a time when artists like Mathew Brady were remaking American culture with their cameras, Mumler was a sensation: the affluent and influential came calling, including Mary Todd Lincoln.
It took a circuslike trial of Mumler on fraud charges, starring P. T. Barnum for the prosecution, to expose a fault line of doubt and manipulation. And even then, the judge's stunning verdict suggested no one would ever solve the mystery of how Mumler did it. This forgotten puzzle offers a vivid snapshot of America at a crossroads in its history, a nation in thrall to new technology while grasping desperately for something to believe in.2 different editions
Also available
The Apparitionists: A Tale of Phantoms, Fraud, Photography, and the Man Who Captured Lincoln's Ghost
Manseau, Peter
Audio Book
The Apparitionists: A Tale of Phantoms, Fraud, Photography, and the Man Who Captured Lincoln's Ghost
Manseau, Peter
Audio Book
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