Death certificate of a two-year-old boy, whose post mortem photo is available here (Thanatos Archive membership is required). Not already an Archive Member? Click here to join for as little at $9.99

Milo’s original memorial card can be viewed in the Mourning and Memorial section of our archive (Thanatos Archive subscription is required). Not yet a member? Membership options are available here.

Waco, Texas, circa 1890: Cabinet card; vignette of a deceased boy. A second cabinet card showing the boy posed on his mother’s lap, alongside his father and older brother is available here (Thanatos Archive subscription is required. Not yet a member? Memberships available here ).

Continue reading →

Real photo postcard showing two of the three triplets (two girls, one boy) who died on September 11, 1911. The reason that only two were photographed is unclear, but these were possibly the two girls photographed together, or, the third child had not yet died.

Photo #2 is the house that the triplets died and were photographed in, taken 44 years later!

A second postcard showing all three deceased triplets is available here (Archive membership is required). Not an Archive Member? Click here to subscribe !

Newspaper article detailing the unfortunate death of 14 year old David Karlson by drowning. A photo of David (taken while alive) as well as his memorial card can be seen on our website (Archive membership is required). Not already an Archive Member? Click here!

Circa 1900 real photo postcard of George Henry Loper at about 15 years old. That is most likely his little sister Edith in the doorway. George, or Henry, died at only 27 from erysipelas, which I believe is a skin infection from a scratch, for example, that gets into the bloodstream. . * His photographic mourning/memorial card can be viewed here (Archive membership is required). Not an Archive Member? Click here to subscribe to the Thanatos Archive. 

Detail, woman in mourning dress

Caption from Archive: Woman in beaded and embroidered black mourning dress, wearing black jet bracelets. Quarter-plate ambrotype, circa 1855. * The scan of the complete cased image is available here (Archive membership is required). Not an Archive Member? Click here to subscribe to the Thanatos Archive. 

Second post mortem photo of Donata Kramer. Another post mortem photo of her sitting up in a chair, plus more details about her death, can be seen here (Archive membership is required). Not an Archive Member? Click here to subscribe to the Thanatos Archive.