In the early 20th century, consulting with spiritualists became de rigueur. Everyone from socialites to scientists would sit with mediums in hopes of connecting with the dead. The era was also the early days of photography. The two met in interesting ways.
Early photography coincided (perhaps not coincidentally) with a spike in spiritualism, mediums and magic. Because the common person did not understand the mechanics of photography, it was relatively easy to trick them with photographs — something that could only show reality. The Perfect Medium is a well written book with hundreds of such photos. The…