The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-09-09
SPIRIT PHOTOGRAPHY.

Washington Times.

Washington Times.
| One of the most transparent spiritual
| istic frauds, one that still imposes on
| many people, nevertheless, is spirit pho
Biography. This process, like other dis
coveries, is the result of an accident.
1T happened some years ago. said a
| Photographic expert, while discussing the
| subject day or two ago, away back in
| the old wet-collodian times, that we'll
known photographer was one day sur
prised at the visitation of a spirit. This
| 'spook did not make it's appearance dur
| ing nocturnal hours, as we are Informed
| is the custom of such gentry, but, like
| Pompey's ghost. in broad daylight. The
| manner of the spirits visitation was, at
that time, novelty, for it appeared upon
velopment Had the worker been of the
| sOft-brained kind, so easily gulled by the
professional Spritualist, it is possible he
would have been much wrought up and
| excited over such a wonderful phenome-
| non, evidently of the other world
AS 1t was, however, he coolly set
about examining into the matter. and the
| results of his investigation were as fol-
| lows:
He found a gentleman who had posed
and for whom a photograph had been
taken in the usual manner upon a COLO
| din plate. Upon taking a positive print
| from the negative, he (the photographer
was surprised TO find a dim white figure of
a lady lowering, apparently, over the I'M
| conscious sitter. Upon examination of the
negative the image of the figure was also
| visible, but not so plainly as in the posi-
tive. The explanation of the matter was
soon apparent In those DAYS glass was
not so cheap as at present, and all new or
| soiled negatives were cleaned off and
| freshly prepared with collOdion for fur
Their use. In this case the glass had prev
iously supported the negative image of a
lady dressed in white. Some chemical ac-
| ton had evidently taken place between the
| image and the glass itself. turning the lat
ter slightly yellow in some parts. This
faint yellow image, although hardly visi-
| BILE in the negative, had, being of a nom
actinic color, given quite a distinct image
IN the positive. The case was not an
isolated one, as these spirit photographs,
| as they were called. often made their APP
pearance when old negatives were cleaned
| and the glass used again.
Inc precise action producing the image
has never, so far as | know been salts
| factorily accounted for. 1t could often be
made more distinct by breathing on the
| glass There is a work published called
| chronicles OF the Photographs of Spiritual
Beings and Phenomena Invisible to the
Material Eye, by Miss Houghton. In this
| valuable book a number of reproductions
| OF photographs of spirits are given with
| a detailed description of how they were
obtained and the difficulties attending
| their production, spirits il appearing be-
| ing of very independent, not to say whimsi-
cal, natures only showing up when they
feel so inclined. 1t is quite possible that a
| person entirely ignorant of Photographic
methods might be led into the belief that
| they were actually Photographic images
| OF the dead, but L feel confident that any
| sham.
| 1t is not difficult to explain how these
pictures We're produced. There is, indeed,
| quite number of methods. With a credu-
| louS person, over whom the operator had
! complete control, il would only be neces-
sary Tor the spirit, suitably attired for
the occasion, to appear for a few seconds
Denlnd the sitter during the exposure and
De taken slightly out of focus, so as not to
appear too cOrporeal
Should, however the sitter be of another
| Kind, anxious to find out how it is done and
| on the qui Vive for any practices of decep-
| tlon, ne might turn round suddenly and de-
! lect the little hOcuS-pOcus. In such a case
| the medium must be prepared with another
ana somewhat more ingenious method The
Snostly image can be prepared upon the
plate either before after the exposure of
the sitter. The method is about as follows:
| In darkened room the draped figure to
represent the spirit is posed i'm as spirit-like
an attitude as possible i'm front of a dark
| background, with a suitable magnesium or
other light arrangement thrown upon the
/ ngure, which is then focused i'm the natur-
| allstlc style; or. better still. a fine piece OF
/ muslin gauze is placed close to the lens.
| which gives hay, indistinct appearance
/ to the image The exposure is made and
| the latent image remains upon the sensi-
| tized plate, which is again used to photo
| graph the sitter. Upon developing two
! images are obtained. the spirit and the
| indistinct as possible al il will then be less
easy for the subject to dispute the state
ment that IT Is the true spirit form Of some
/ dead and gone relative or friend. Some
/ amount of discretion in this part OF the per
! Torrance is necessary / imagine, or else
! the same disaster might happen as did TO a
| spiritualist some little time ago.