It was during the South African War that my father obtained one of his
best authenticated spirit photographs, so I think that it is well to
give here his own account of his experiments in that direction. He
writes:
"While recording the results at which I have arrived, I wish to
repudiate any desire to dogmatize as to their significance or their
origin. I merely record the facts, and although I may indicate
conclusions and inferences which I have drawn from them, I attach no
importance to anything but the facts themselves.
"There is living in London at the present moment an old man of
seventy-one years of age, a man of no education; he can write, but he
cannot spell, and he has for many years earned his living as a
photographer. He was always in a small way of business, a quiet,
inoffensive man who brought up his family respectably, and lived in
peace with his neighbors, attracting no particular remark....
"When he started in business as a photographer it was in the days when
the wet process was almost universal, and he was much annoyed by finding
that when he exposed plates other forms than that of the sitter would
appear in the background. So many plates were spoiled by these unwelcome
intruders that his partner became very angry, and insisted that the
plates had not been washed before they were used. He protested this was
not so, and asked his partner to bring a packet of completely new plates
with which he would take a photograph and see what was the result. His
partner accepted the challenge, and produced a plate which had never
previously been used; but when the portrait of the next sitter was
taken, there appeared a shadow form in the background. Angry and
frightened at this unwelcome appearance he flung the plate to the ground
with an oath, and from that time for very many years he was never again
troubled by an occurrence of similar phenomena.
"About ten years ago he became interested in spiritualism, and to his
surprise, and also to his regret, the shadow figures began to re-appear
on the background of the photographs. He repeatedly had to destroy
negatives and ask his customer to give him another sitting. It did his
business harm, and in order to avoid this annoyance he left most of the
photographing to his son.
"I happened to hear of these curious experiences of his and sought him
out. I found him very reluctant to speak about the matter. He said
frankly he did not know how the figures came; it had been a great
annoyance to him, and it gave his shop a bad name. He did not wish
anything to be said about the matter. In deference, however, to repeated
pressing on my part, he consented to make experiments with me, and I
had at various times a considerable number of sittings.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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