The Veil Lifted: Modern Developments of Spirit Photography

Part 1

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“Souls burn for souls—spirits to spirits cry, I seek the splendour in thy fair face storèd; Yet living man that beauty scarce can learn, And he who fain would find it first must die.”

THE VEIL LIFTED.

MODERN DEVELOPMENTS OF SPIRIT PHOTOGRAPHY.

With Twelve Illustrations.

A PAPER BY J. TRAILL TAYLOR DESCRIBING EXPERIMENTS IN PSYCHIC PHOTOGRAPHY.

LETTER BY THE REV. H. R. HAWEIS, M.A.

ADDRESSES BY JAMES ROBERTSON, GLASGOW.

AND MISCELLANEA BY THE EDITOR, ANDREW GLENDINNING.

LONDON: WHITTAKER & CO., WHITE HART STREET, E.C. 1894.

“Kant expressed himself favourable to the view that a world of supersensuous beings environs this planet, and that the establishment of communication with such beings is only a matter of time.”—E. D. FAWCETT.

* * * * *

“Before many months are over, I think it will be admitted by every candid mind that the persistence of the individual after death, and the possibility of communicating with that individual, has been as well established on a scientific basis as any other fact in nature. That, you may think, is a bold assertion. It is not an assertion; it is a prophecy, based upon facts which are within my own knowledge, and of which I speak with as much confidence as I do of anything which has ever come within my own personal observation.”—W. T. STEAD, in The Review of Reviews, Jan. 1893.

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“Personally, we consider Spiritualism a valuable bulwark against the inroads of Materialistic Atheism.”—SALADIN, in The Agnostic Journal.

PREFACE.

The publication in the British Journal of Photography of Mr. Taylor’s Paper, with the proceedings of the meeting at which it was read, has aroused a wide-spread and deep interest in the subject. The principal portions of it, and, in some instances the whole of the Paper, together with editorial comments, have subsequently appeared in newspapers and journals in Canada, Australia, India, America, and other countries. As his experiments will be a matter of historical interest, many scientific men will be pleased to have his Paper in this book form, with the reproductions of two of the psychic pictures which he obtained on his photographic plates.

The term “spirit photographs” is generally used to describe photographs of psychic entities who cannot be seen by ordinary persons, but can be photographed by a medium, or with the help of a medium, and with the co-operation of these unseen entities. Such portraits are obtained both indoors and in the open air, with and without a background, by natural light and by artificial light; and, in the case of “materialised” forms at séances, which are visible to every person present, the portraits have sometimes been taken by light produced by the spirits, the exact nature of which is unknown.

The following may serve as a rough classification of what are called spirit photographs:—

1. Portraits of psychical entities not seen by normal vision.

2. Pictures of objects not seen nor thought of by the sitter or by the medium or operator; such as flowers, words, crosses, crowns, lights, and various emblematic objects.

3. Pictures which have the appearance of being copied from statues, paintings, or drawings. Sometimes these are busts or heads only. The flatness in some photographs of this class is supposed, by persons who have not investigated the subject, to be proof that the photographs are produced in a fraudulent manner.

4. Pictures of what are called materialised forms visible to normal sight.

5. Pictures of the “wraith” or “double” of persons still in the body.

6. Portraits on plates which developers have failed to bring into view, but that can be seen and described by clairvoyants and by mediums when in trance and whose descriptions agree, though made independently.

There are, also, portraits that cannot be classed as photographs, as they have not been taken by the agency of a camera, or by exposing the prepared plate previous to development of the image.

Those who desire further information than is contained in this volume on the subject of spirit photography should read the following:—

A series of important articles by the late Mr. Stainton Moses (M.A. Oxon), in Human Nature, Vols. VIII. and IX., 1874-75. The volumes may be had on loan from the Library of the Spiritual Institution, 15 Southampton Row, W.C., or from the Library of the Spiritual Alliance, 2 Duke Street, Charing Cross. The subscription to either Library is a guinea a year.

Part 2

Article on “Ghosts and their Photographs,” by the Rev. H. R. Haweis, M.A., in the Fortnightly Review, January, 1893.

Chronicles of the Photographs of Spiritual Beings and Phenomena Invisible to the Material Eye. By Miss Houghton. Illustrated by six plates, containing fifty-four miniature reproductions from the original photographs. E. W. Allen, Ave Maria Lane, 1882. Sold also by Jas. Burns, 15 Southampton Row, W.C. Price 10s. 6d.

CONTENTS.

PAGE

PREFACE v

INTRODUCTION 1

What led to the recent Experiments in Psychic Photography 1

Testimony relating to David Duguid 3

“SPIRIT PHOTOGRAPHY,” WITH REMARKS ON FLUORESCENCE. By J. Traill Taylor 9

Origin of “Spirit” Photography 10

Some Investigators of the Subject 11

Photographing the Invisible 15

Fluorescence 17

A Lady’s Joke 20

Some Personal Experiments 23

How the Psychic Figures Behaved 31

The Stereoscopic Camera in Use 33

REMARKS BY MEMBERS AND VISITORS 37

Portrait obtained without Exposure in Camera 49

PRESS NOTICES OF MR. TAYLOR’S PAPER:—

From the “Practical Photographer,” April, 1893 53

From the “Review of Reviews,” April, 1893 57

From “The Morning” (Daily Newspaper), April 4th, 1893 59

From the “Medium and Daybreak,” March 24th, 1893 60

From “Light,” March 18th, 1893 63

From “Light,” March 25th, 1893 64

From “Light,” May 6th, 1893 67

From the “Two Worlds,” March 24th, 1893 69

Part 3

GHOSTS AND THEIR PHOTOGRAPHS. By the Rev. H. R. Haweis, M.A. 71

“Will you Show me the Ghost?” 73

“Authentic” Ghost Photographs 76

The late Editor of “Light” 78

SPIRIT PHOTOGRAPHY. By Jas. Robertson, Glasgow 85

His Opportunities for Observation 89

David Duguid prevailed on to try Experiments 90

Experiments in Mr. Robertson’s Warehouse 91

John Page Hopps on Spirit Life 92

A beautiful Portrait obtained 92

Testimony by “Edina” 93

Portrait obtained in Edinburgh of a Child 94

Details of the Experiments to obtain it 95

MISCELLANEA. By Andrew Glendinning 111

How Abraham Lincoln’s Spirit Photograph was obtained 115

Experiments by Professor Crookes, F.R.S. 122

The beauty of Katie King described 123

Lecture by Arthur Maltby 128

Lantern Transparencies, by Mr. Acton 129

How a Portrait was obtained without a Camera 144

ILLUSTRATIONS.

PAGE

PHOTOGRAPH OF SPIRIT HEAD AND FACE BY DAVID DUGUID Frontispiece.

PORTRAIT OF DAVID DUGUID 25

PHOTOGRAPH OF SPIRIT BY J. TRAILL TAYLOR 29

ANOTHER PHOTOGRAPH BY J. TRAILL TAYLOR 35

PHOTOGRAPH OF A LADY AND THE SPIRIT OF HER FATHER 79

PHOTOGRAPH OF MR. STAINTON MOSES, M.A., AND SPIRIT 83

Part 4

PHOTOGRAPH OF HON. M. A. DOW AND SPIRIT OF MABEL WARREN 117

PSYCHIC PICTURE OBTAINED WITHOUT A CAMERA OR EXPOSURE OF PLATE TO LIGHT 145

PSYCHIC FORM OBTAINED OCTOBER 21, 1893 149

MRS. GREEN AND SPIRIT 153

SPIRIT LADY 157

PSYCHIC FORM OBTAINED APRIL 29, 1892 160

“Stand upright, speak thy thought, declare The truth thou hast, that all may share; Be bold, proclaim it everywhere; They only live who dare.”—LEWIS MORRIS.

* * * * *

“All great discoveries have at first been derided as ridiculous and then denounced as impious, and lastly adopted as a matter of course. Let us, then, as we have to learn to labour and to wait, stand firm for the expansion of human faculty, increase of human growth, accession to human knowledge, and welcome, as all in the day’s work, even the silent apparition or the gibbering ghost.”—Rev. H. R. HAWEIS, M.A.

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“There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.”—PAUL.

INTRODUCTION.

“Every new truth which has ever been propounded has, for a time, caused mischief; it has produced discomfort, and often unhappiness.”—BUCKLE, in History of Civilisation.

WHAT LED TO THE RECENT EXPERIMENTS IN PSYCHIC PHOTOGRAPHY.

A number of test séances for spirit photography had been held with Mr. David Duguid, of which no records have been kept, but in April and May, 1892, four séances were held under strict test conditions, notes of which were made at the time, and signed by the various persons who were present. These notes were printed for private circulation, and a copy was sent, with some of the photographs, to Mr. Frederic W. H. Myers, Cambridge, (Hon. Secretary Psychical Research Society).

He suggested that when there was another opportunity for a test séance, the presence of a “scientific man,” and some one well acquainted with photographic manipulations, be got to attend to watch the experiments.

One of the investigators induced Mr. Duguid to come to London to give a séance under the strictest test conditions which could be devised; and Mr. J. Traill Taylor, Editor of the British Journal of Photography, by special request consented to take charge of the experiments, and to fix the conditions under which they should be made.

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