[Postmortem Portrait of an Infant]

about 1855

Medium

Daguerreotype

Dimensions

6.8 × 5.6 cm

Status

In Museum Collection

Collect24 Art ID

C24-493921

Posed as if sleeping peacefully, a small child rests her head against a crepe-covered pillow and her hands on a satin blanket. "Secure the Shadow 'ere the Substance Fade," a popular advertising slogan, reminded customers that a daguerreotype portrait would last forever. Long after a child had grown or age had transformed youth, the daguerreotype would preserve the image of a loved one. The large number of postmortem portraits of children gives the slogan special poignancy, a sad reminder of the high mortality rates in the 1800s, particularly for children. The practice of postmortem photography persisted into the first decades of the twentieth century, particularly in African-American communities.