The Apparitionists

A story of faith and fraud in post Civil War America, told through the lens of a photographer who claimed he could capture images of the dead.In the early days of photography, in the death strewn wake of the Civil War, one man seized America s imagination A spirit photographer, William Mumler took portrait photographs that featured the ghostly presence of a lost loved one alongside the living subject Mumler was a sensation The affluent and influential came calling, including Mary Todd Lincoln, who arrived at his studio in disguise amidst rumors of s ances in the White House.Peter Manseau brilliantly captures a nation wracked with grief and hungry for proof of the existence of ghosts and for contact with their dead husbands and sons It took a circus like trial of Mumler on fraud charges, starring P T Barnum for the prosecution, to expose a fault line of doubt and manipulation And even then, the judge sided with the defense nobody ever solved the mystery of his spirit photography This forgotten puzzle offers a vivid snapshot of America at a crossroads in its history, a nation in thrall to new technology while clinging desperately to belief. Read The Apparitionists author Peter Manseau – kino-fada.fr This turned out to be rather different from what I expected, but I found it interesting The subtitle, A Tale of Phantoms, Fraud, and the Man Who Captured Lincoln s Ghost, suggests that the book is about William Mumler and his spirit photography, and that is, indeed, the spine that runs through the book and holds it together The bulk of Manseau s work, though, is an exploration of the early days of American photography and its revolutionary impact on the culture The Civil War, with its legac This turned out to be rather different from what I expected, but I found it interesting The subtitle, A Tale of Phantoms, Fraud, and the Man Who Captured Lincoln s Ghost, suggests that the book is about William Mumler and his spirit photography, and that is, indeed, the spine that runs through the book and holds it together The bulk of Manseau s work, though, is an exploration of the early days of American photography and its revolutionary impact on the culture The Civil War, with its legacy of loss and grief on a vast scale, created an ideal market for a man offering to reveal a last glimpse of lost family me...A fascinating examination of the curious intersection of Civil War grief, Spiritualism, and photographer technology I interviewed Peter Manseau about his book here at The Washington PostFirst, it s a mess as far as scope organization There were a few times I thought about quitting it, but then plugged on hoping that later chapters would tie things together , or narrow the focus, or coalesce the topic by the end It kind of, sort of did by the final couple of chapters, but the majority of it was like reading a bunch of semi or barely related vignettes about the early days rise of photography here in the US A defined focus a strong editorial hand would ha First, it s a mess as far as scope organization There were a few times I thought about quitting it, but then plugged on hoping that later chapters would tie things together , or narrow the focus, or coalesce the topic by the end It kind of, sort of did by the final couple of chapters, but the majority of it was like reading a bunch of semi or barely related vignettes about the early days rise of photography here in the US A defined focus a strong editorial hand would have helped immensely.That said, the topics subject matter were fairly interesting For example, Matthew Brady of Civil War photography fame was rarely in the field himself many of the images were taken by...3 starsI will be truthful I did not read this book cover to cover I pretty much picked and chose what chapters that I wanted to read I was really ready for a non fiction book and tried this one, but it was not what I was looking for This book has a number of pictures in it Mostly pictures that show a ghost or spirit along side the person of interest This was when photography was in its very early stages Some of the pictures had the living person so far to one side that you could not beli 3 starsI will be truthful I did not read this book cover to cover I pretty much picked and chose what chapters that I wanted to read I was really ready for a non fiction book and tried this one, but it was not what I was looking for This book has a number of pictures in it Mostly pictures that show a ghost or spirit along side the person of interest This was when photography was in its very early stages Some of the pictures had the living person so far to one side that you could not believe that the ses...THE APPARITIONISTS 2017 Peter ManseauThis is a semi academic review of photo spiritualism, written by an author who is the curator of religion at the Smithsonian Institution s Museum of Natural History It reviews the surge in belief in the afterlife as demonstrated by ghost appearances of loved ones on the photographs of their living relations These photographs containing shadows of departed relatives or friends were first introduced by William H Mumler, a Boston based chemist and THE APPARITIONISTS 2017 Peter ManseauThis is a semi academic review of photo spiritualism, written by an author who is the curator of religion at the Smithsonian Institution s Museum of Natural History It reviews the surge in belief in the afterlife as demonstrated by ghost appearances of loved ones on the photographs of their living relations These ph...Peter Manseau s The Apparitionists A Tale of Phantoms, Fraud, Photography, and the Man Who Captured Lincoln s Ghost was an interesting look at the history of early photography, Spiritualism, and the cross section the paranormal and science during the Civil War era As a history nerd, and someone who s read quite a bit about Christianity in the US it was a fascinating look at changes in American religious thought Moreover, the main person we follow is William Mumler who claimed to be able to ph Peter Manseau s The Apparitionists A Tale of Phantoms, Fraud, Photography, and the Man Who Captured Lincoln s Ghost was an interesting look at the history of early photogra...Truly excellentUnfortunately, Mumler comes across as spectral, like his spirit apparitions He meanders through the background of this disjointed book which is truly about the better known pioneering photographers of the northeastern U.S...Intensely researched and in good, piecemeal sections I blanked out during some passages because I was thrown off by the organization felt that at times the story jumped back and forth in time Still interesting, tho, if you re into culty wack historical stuff or photography.This book was incredible It read like a novel at times, and was impeccably researched The mystery at the heart of the book is really cool, and I learned a lot about a time in American history that isn t terribly well known American ...

• 14 March 2018
Peter Manseau
• Hardcover
• 352 pages
• 0544745973
• Peter Manseau
• The Apparitionists