When a family member passed away, the Victorians had photos taken of the dearly departed. These eerie shots served as grim keepsakes, reminders of the inevitability of death — and fashionable home furnishings.

Originally, “memento mori” meant almost anything – locks of corpse hair woven into jewelry, death masks, paintings of the deceased. The advent of photography changed all this. Suddenly, the middle class could afford to have the pallid, waxy corpses of their loved ones immortalized on a budget.

Top two photos via Wikimedia.
Bottom two photos via Technocrazed.

Quoted text via Cracked.