Looking for some unsettling inspiration for your Halloween stories?
I think there’s something artful and captivating about the patterns of decay found in these fading daguerreotypes. Taken by famous civil war photographer Mathew Brady, an archaic photography process has created some unintentionally unsettling art.
A daguerreotype is a 19th-century method of photography. The image itself is a microscopic silver and mercury amalgam placed on silver-plated copper sheet. These plates were sealed under glass, but over the past 150 years, these seals slowly failed.
This failure exposes the image to humidity, which tarnishes the silver and obscures the portraits. On top of that, the glass used can actually “weep” corrosive alkaline droplets, creating additional spots and blemishes.
The result is a form of accidental process art. Faces are erased and figures recede into a sort of fog. These images could be beautiful prompts for any gothic or horror themed works. What story is suggested by the unidentified woman whose body is intact but face is erased, or the image of a crucifix barely visible through a chemical film?
As they are in the public domain, these portraits are ideal for use as cover art, illustration, or pure seasonal inspiration.
You can read more about Mathew Brady and his work here:
Public Domain Review: https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/decayed-daguerreotypes/
See the full collection here:
Library of Congress: https://www.loc.gov/pictures/search/?sp=1&co=dag&st=grid
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