The Veil Lifted: Modern Developments of Spirit Photography
Religion
The Veil Lifted: Modern Developments of Spirit Photography
Spirit photography; Spiritualism
For nearly thirty years has Mr. David Duguid been before the world as
a private medium for various descriptions of spirit phenomena. He has
given innumerable séances readily, without fee or desire for reward,
to clergymen, medical men, artists, teachers of science, lawyers,
journalists, merchants, and men and women in all ranks of life; he has
sacrificed time and money in the cause which is dear to his heart, and
upon which no act or word of his has ever brought a stain. These facts
are well known to many, nor would it be necessary to print them here
were it not for the efforts made to destroy public confidence in the
facts brought to light through his mediumship by writers in certain
photographic journals, and the artful insinuations of men who put
themselves forward on the plea of being anxious investigators.
_WHERE MR. TAYLOR READ HIS PAPER._
At a meeting of the London and Provincial Photographic Association, held
on March 9, 1893, Mr. J. Weir Brown in the chair, the following paper by
Mr. Taylor was read by him, and, with his consent, is reprinted from the
_British Journal of Photography_ (Vol. XL., No. 1715, March 17, 1893).
There was a large attendance of members, and several visitors were
present. Visitors were allowed to make remarks, a privilege of which
several availed themselves. Some members put questions to Mr. Taylor on
points of detail regarding his experiments, all of which he replied to
frankly and explicitly. In replying to one member, Mr. Taylor stated
that he had received a letter, asking him to bring a reasonable man
with him _to witness_ his experiments—in fact, he said, he had the
option of taking any one he chose. To another member Mr. Taylor replied
that he himself placed the sitters and the camera, and also arranged
the lighting of the room. Several members spoke highly of Mr. Taylor’s
qualifications to conduct such experiments; but as they could not accept
the spiritualistic hypothesis, and as the photographs had to them the
appearance of being copied from cut-out prints, or made by “stump-work,”
they concluded that therefore they could not be genuine, ignoring
entirely Mr. Taylor’s emphatic statements, which he had already given in
his paper, viz.:—
“_My conditions were entirely acquiesced in_”—that I “_should use my own
camera and unopened packages of dry plates, purchased from dealers of
repute, and that I should be excused from allowing a plate to go out of
my own hand till after development_,” and that “_I should dictate all the
conditions of operation_.”
As a matter of fact, everything connected with the experiments was
subject to Mr. Taylor’s entire control and approval.
“SPIRIT PHOTOGRAPHY,” WITH REMARKS ON FLUORESCENCE.[3]
_By_ J. TRAILL TAYLOR.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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