Wisconsin Death Trip
In 1973, Michael Lesy published an artful arrangement of late-19th century newspaper clippings and otherworldly photographs from a small town in Wisconsin. He called it Wisconsin Death Trip. Photos of children in coffins–along with text chronicling murder, insanity, disease, and suicide–can be shocking to a 21st century audience. But what was it like for the people who lived through it? This audio slide show includes an interview with Lesy and images from the book, in addition to other images of Victorian post-mortem photography.
Related Links:
- Browse more Victorian post-mortem photography at Thanatos.net
- View more “Wisconsin Death Trip” photos at the Wisconsin Historical Society
- See how post-mortem photography is used by mourners today
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WISCONSIN 1900–WISCONSIN DEATH TRIP. | Pater Familias :
[...] Here is a wikipedia article about the book and a film based on the book (narrated by Ian Holm). Here is a slide show about the book with a caution that “Photos of children in coffins–along [...]
Quote -- June 1, 2009 @ 7:32 pm -
Grave Matters: A History of Death and Mourning | BackStory With The American History Guys :
[...] In 1967, Michael Lesy stumbled upon an otherworldly collection of photographs from late-19th century Wisconsin. He talks about some of the darker images and their meanings in this audio slide show. [...]
Quote -- May 28, 2010 @ 9:46 am -
Alec Soth, Andy Adams, Corey Doctorow, David Campbell, David Gray, Edmund Clark, Geoff Dyer, Giles Peress and MANY MORE … THE FRIENDS OF PHONAR BOOK LIST « PHONAR – A free and open photography class :
[...] spooky stories it told. The book went on to several reprints and spawned a film of the same name. More here. I spent four years working in the Wisconsin Historical Society’s photo archive (where the [...]
Quote -- December 13, 2010 @ 5:49 am
