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This half-stereograph image from the turn of the twentieth century falls into the category of bereavement and mourning memorabilia. Stereographs, double images mounted side by side to create a three-dimensional effect when seen through a special viewer, were very popular collectibles among middle-class Americans beginning in the mid-nineteenth century. Many stereographs depicted tourist locations or portraits of famous individuals, but narrative scenes were also typical and viewing them was a familiar pastime.
The staged sentimental bereavement scene was a common type of narrative stereograph that reflected some of the Victorian preoccupation with mourning at the time. A parallel story to the one we see here — a mother grieving over an empty crib — was also commonly portrayed. This particular stereograph was produced by the Melander & Bro. photography studio of Chicago, who produced many such collectibles.
Note the ghostly image of the angel on the upper right side of the composition. The figure is perhaps meant to be the spirit of the mother, watching over the orphans. This feature is an interesting intersection between the mourning memorabilia genre and the "spirit photograph." Early photographers would use superimposition and montaging to achieve a ghostly effect in images and, for a brief period, some viewers believed that the apparations they saw were actual spirits captured through the magic of photography. The style remained popular even after people began to view photographs with more critical distance.
Credit: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division [LC-USZ62-68332]
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