The Humbugs of the World: An Account of Humbugs, Delusions, Impositions, Quackeries, Deceits and Deceivers Generally, in All AgesBarnum, P. T. (Phineas Taylor)
General
The Humbugs of the World: An Account of Humbugs, Delusions, Impositions, Quackeries, Deceits and Deceivers Generally, in All Ages
Barnum, P. T. (Phineas Taylor)
Impostors and imposture
Not long after Colorado Jewett had beheld these wonderful pictures, and
worked himself up into the belief that he was surrounded by the great
and good statesmen of a former generation, a lady, without making
herself known, called upon the photographer. I am informed that she is
the wife of a distinguished official. She had heard of the success of
others, and came to verify their experience under her own bereavement.
Completely satisfied by the apparition exhibited, she asked for and
obtained a spectral photograph resembling her son, who, some months
previously, had gone to the spirit-land. It is said that the same lady
asked for and obtained a spiritual photograph of her brother, whom she
had recently heard was slain in battle; and when she returned home she
found him alive, and as well as could be expected under the
circumstances. But this did not shake her faith in the least. She simply
remarked that some evil spirit had assumed her brother's form in order
to deceive her. This is a very common method of spiritualists "digging
out" when the impositions of the "money-operators" are detected. This
same lady has recently given her personal influence in favor of the
"medium" Colchester, in Washington. One of these impressions bearing the
likeness of this distinguished lady was accidentally recognized by a
visitor. This capped the climax of the imposture and satisfied the
photographer that he was committing a grave injury upon society by
continuing to produce "spiritual pictures," and subsequently he refused
to lend himself to any more "manifestations" of this kind. He had
exhausted the fun.
I need only explain the modus operandi of effecting this illusion, to
make apparent to the most ignorant that no supernatural agency was
required to produce photographs bearing a resemblance to the persons
whose "apparition" was desired. The photographer always took the
precaution of inquiring about the deceased, his appearance and ordinary
mode of wearing the hair. Then, selecting from countless old "negatives"
the nearest resemblance, it was produced for the visitor, in dim,
ghostlike outline differing so much from anything of the kind ever
produced, that his customers seldom failed to recognize some lineament
the dead person possessed when living, especially if such relative had
deceased long since. The spectral illusions of Adams, Webster, Jackson,
Clay, and Douglas were readily obtained from excellent portraits of the
deceased statesmen, from which the scientific operator had prepared his
illusions for Colorado Jewett.
In placing before my readers this incident of "Spiritual Photography," I
can assure them that the facts are substantially as related; and I am
now in correspondence with gentlemen of wealth and position who have
signified their willingness to support this statement by affidavits and
other documents prepared for the purpose of opening the eyes of the
people to the delusions daily practised upon the ignorant and
superstitious.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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