The Strange Case of William Mumler, Spirit Photographer

Praise for The Strange Case of William Mumler, Spirit Photographer

"This book is an important contribution to the growing literature on spirit photography and gives the reader an intimate insight into the world of the Spiritualists and the occult power of the photograph in the 1860s. An extremely valuable resource." —Martyn Jolly, author of Faces of the Living Dead: The Belief in Spirit Photography

"No other book brings together in one source the testimonies of William Mumler and his critics, critical and historical analysis, and selections from the rich collections of extant Mumler photographs. An intriguing and valuable work." —Jennifer Tucker, author of Nature Exposed: Photography as Eyewitness in Victorian Science

"Kaplan’s book is particularly relevant because he asserts that spirit photographs bring to the surface our deep connection with photography itself. Thus, as digital photography continues to call into question faith in the truth of photographic evidence, and religious fundamentalism continues to play a central role in contemporary politics, spirit photographs have just as much to tell us about our contemporary experience as they do about one “strange case” from the nineteenth century." —Photography and Culture