Hidden Mother Photographs – A Victorian Curiosity
In the early days of photography, as we all know, you had to sit still if you wanted a semi-decent picture of yourself or a loved one. For an adult that poses no real problem, but if you are an adult wanting to capture your tiny wee child it suddenly becomes a major issue. Kids are great and everything, but one thing they certainly aren’t great at is sitting in one place for more than 0.5 seconds. Bear in mind this was before the birth of the Night Garden, so parents hadn’t got the aid of hypnotism yet.
So what would you do if you wanted a lovely picture of your lovely little nipper without you in the frame? Well, these photos give you the answer: hide. That’s right, drape yourself in a cloth and hide in the background.
To my eyes these pictures all look 100% creepy, and would have been a lot better if the mother had just sat next to the child instead of skulking under ghost like sheets. So here’s a Victorian parade of loving phantoms, ghouls and goblins:
What a pretty little girl, and what an enchanting bulky lump of exquisite carpet too.
Lovely baby, great socks, shame about the executioner in the background.
They nearly got away with it, but I can see your wrists mum…
If you’ve gone to all that effort of hiding your head and torso, why not go that extra mile and hide your legs?
If you’re not too freaked out click next page for some more half arsed attempts to hide a mother…
