Man & Spirit
An 1860s spirit photograph by William H. Mumler featuring an unidentified man and spirit. The photograph is printed on a CDV card with the name of photographer W. W. Silver on the back.
Silver was not a Spiritualist himself and had rented out studio space to Mumler during his early days in NYC. Mumler made use of Silver’s equipment and chemicals. Mumler would eventually buy out the studio from Silver.
Silver would go on to testify on Mumler’s behalf during his trial. He stated:
“He did not detect at any time anything that looked like fraud or deception on his part”.
The New York Herald – April 24, 1869