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The Apparitionists|Peter Manseau

The Apparitionists : A Tale of Phantoms, Fraud, Photography, and the Man Who Captured Lincoln's Ghost

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Overview

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.

Details

  • ISBN-13: 9781328557063
  • ISBN-10: 1328557065
  • Publisher: Mariner Books
  • Publish Date: October 2018
  • Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 1 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 0.61 pounds
  • Page Count: 352

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