[Post-Mortem of a Child]

CultureAmerican
Titles
  • [Post-Mortem of a Child]
Datec. 1846
MediumDaguerreotype
DimensionsImage: 2 13/16 × 2 3/8 in. (7.2 × 6 cm)
Overall (closed case): 3 1/8 × 3 5/8 × 11/16 in. (8 × 9.2 × 1.7 cm)
Credit LineMuseum purchase funded by the Photography Subcommittee 2022
Object number2023.128
Not on view

Explore Further

Department
Photography
Object Type
Description

From 1800 to 1870, the major causes of death in children were tuberculosis, infant diarrhea, bacillary dysentery, typhoid fever, and contagious diseases like scarlet fever, diphtheria, and lobar pneumonia. Overall, a combination of poor sanitation, undernourishment, high fertility rates, limited medical knowledge, and socioeconomic disparities contributed to the high infant mortality rate in the 1800s. It is estimated that roughly 30 to 50 percent of children died before reaching the age of five.

 

This late-1840s daguerreotype is a memorial portrait of a recently deceased child who likely died of a childhood illness. Depicted in fine clothing, the child of about one to two years old lies down with eyes closed, as if simply sleeping, with a rocking chair in the background. Photography offered grieving parents the opportunity to remember their child. One of these photographs (later called “post-mortems”), was often the only image of the child. These photographs express the traditions of their time, when mourning-related artifacts were commonplace.


Provenance[Casey Allen Waters, Exeter, New Hampshire]; purchased by MFAH, 2023.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

If you have questions about this work of art or the MFAH Online Collection please contact us.

[Woman with Post-Mortem Child]
Susannah Smith
1853–1855
Daguerreotype with applied color
2023.489
[Woman and Girl with Doll]
c. 1850
Daguerreotype in leather case
2024.1000
[Three Musicians]
Robert H. Vance
1850–1855
Daguerreotype
2025.8
[Woman with Bonnet and Curls, Smaller Portrait of Young Man]
c. 1855
Daguerreotype and tintype in leather case
2003.644.A,.B
[Man with Top Hat]
c. 1855
Daguerreotype
2003.647
[Young Boy and Girl]
c. 1855
Daguerreotype
2003.646
Untitled
c. 1855
Daguerreotype
2003.648
Untitled
c. 1845
Daguerreotype
2003.502
Untitled
c. 1849
Daguerreotype
2003.494
Untitled
c. 1855
Daguerreotype
2003.617