THE VEIL LIFTED MODERN DEVELOPMENTS OF SPIRIT PHOTOGRAPHY With Twelve Illustrations Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2016 https://archive.org/details/veilliftedmodernOOtayl This spirit-face is the realisation of a high ideal of beauty) sweetness, and spirituality. The beauty of it we cannot now fully comprehend ; but, as we gaze on it, we may say in the words of Michael Angelo : — “ Souls burn for souls — spirits to spirits cry, I seek the splendour in thy fair face stored ; Yet living man that beauty scarce can learn, And he who fain would find it first must die.” [See page 92 , tenth line. THE VEIL LIFTED MODERN DEVELOPMENTS OF SPIRIT PHOTOGRAPHY. mxtb twelve illustrations. A PAPER BY J. TRAILL TAYLOR DESCRIBING EXPERIMENTS IN PSYCHIC PHOTOGRAPHY. LETTER BY THE REV. H. R. HAWEIS, M.A. ADDRESSES BY JAMES ROBERTSON, GLASGOW. AND MISCELLANEA BY THE EDITOR , ANDREW GLENDINNING. LONDON : WHITTAKER & CO., White Hart Street, E.C. 1894. “ Kant expressed himself favourable to the view that a world of supersensuous beings environs this planet, and that the establishment of communication with such beings is only a matter of time.” — E. D. Fawcett. “ Before many months are over, I think it will be admitted by every candid mind that the persistence of the individual after death, and the possibility of communicating with that individual, has been as well established on a scientific basis as any other fact in nature. That, you may think, is a bold assertion. It is not an assertion ; it is a prophecy, based upon facts which are within my own knowledge, and of which I speak with as much confidence as I do of anything which has ever come within my own personal observation.” — W. T. Stead, in The Review of Reviews , Jan. 1893. “ Personally, we consider Spiritualism a valuable bulwark against the inroads of Materialistic Atheism.” — Saladin, in The Agnostic Journal. PREFACE. The publication in the British Journal of Fhotography of Mr. Taylor’s Paper, with the proceedings of the meeting at which it was read, has aroused a wide-spread and deep in- terest in the subject. The principal portions of it, and, in some instances the whole of the Paper, together with editorial comments, have subsequently appeared in newspapers and journals in Canada, Australia, India, America, and other countries. As his experiments will be a matter of historical interest, many scientific men will be pleased to have his Paper in this book form, with the reproductions of two of the psychic pictures which he obtained on his photo- graphic plates. The term “ spirit photographs ” is generally b VI PREFACE. used to describe photographs of psychic en- tities who cannot be seen by ordinary persons,, but can be photographed by a medium, or with the help of a medium, and with the co-operation of these unseen entities. Such portraits are obtained both indoors and in the open air, with and without a background, by natural light and by artificial light; and, in the case of “ materialised ” forms at seances, which are visible to every person present, the portraits have sometimes been taken by light produced by the spirits, the exact nature of which is unknown. The following may serve as a rough, classification of what are called spirit photo- graphs : — 1. Portraits of psychical entities not seen by normal vision. 2. Pictures of objects not seen nor thought of by the sitter or by the medium or operator such as flowers, words, crosses, crowns, lights, and various emblematic objects. PREFACE. Vll 3. Pictures which have the appearance of being copied from statues, paintings, or draw- ings. Sometimes these are busts or heads only. The flatness in some photographs of this class is supposed, by persons who have not investigated the subject, to be proof that the photographs are produced in a fraudulent manner. 4. Pictures of what are called materialised forms visible to normal sight. 5. Pictures of the “ wraith ” or “ double ” of persons still in the body. 6. Portraits on plates which developers have failed to bring into view, but that can be seen and described by clairvoyants and by mediums when in trance and whose descriptions agree, though made independently. There are, also, portraits that cannot be classed as photographs, as they have not been taken by the agency of a camera, or by exposing the prepared plate previous to development of the image. Vlll PREFACE, Those who desire further information than is contained in this volume on the subject of spirit photography should read the following : — A series of important articles by the late Mr. Stainton Moses (M.A. Oxon), in Human Nature, Vols. VIII. and IX., 1874-75. The volumes may be had on loan from the Library of the Spiritual Institution, 15 Southampton Row, W.C., or from the Library of the Spiritual Alliance, 2 Duke Street, Charing Cross. The subscription to either Library is a guinea a year. Article on “ Ghosts and their Photographs,” by the Rev. H. R s Haweis, M.A., in the Fort - nightly Review , January, 1893. Chronicles of the Photographs of Spiritual Beings and Phenomena Invisible to the Material Eye. By Miss Houghton. Illustrated by six plates, containing fifty-four miniature reproduc- tions from the original photographs. E. W. Allen, Ave Maria Lane, 1882. Sold also by Jas. Burns, 15 Southampton Row, W.C. Price 10s. 6 d. CONTENTS. PAGE Preface v Introduction i What led to the recent Experiments in Psychic Photography I Testimony relating to David Duguid . . 3 ^‘Spirit Photography,” with Remarks on Fluorescence, By J. Traill Taylor . 9 Origin of “ Spirit ” Photography ... 10 Some Investigators of the Subject . . . 11 Photographing the Invisible . . . . 15 Fluorescence 17 A Lady’s Joke 20 Some Personal Experiments .... 23 How the Psychic Figures Behaved . . . 31 The Stereoscopic Camera in Use . . . 33 Remarks by Members and Visitors . . 37 Portrait obtained without Exposure in Camera 49 Press Notices of Mr. Taylor’s Paper:— From the “Practical Photographer,” April, 1893 53 From the “ Review of Reviews,” April, 1893 • 57 From “The Morning” (Daily Newspaper), April 4th, 1893 59 . From the “Medium and Daybreak,” March 24th, 1893 60 From “Light,” March 1 8th, 1893 . . . ' 63 X CONTENTS. PAGE From “Light,” March 25th, 1893 ... 64 From “ Light,” May 6th, 1893 . ... 67 From the “Two Worlds,” March 24th, 1893 . 69 Ghosts and Their Photographs By the Rev. H. R. Haweis, M.A. . . 71 “Will you Show me the Ghost?” . . . 73 “ Authentic ” Ghost Photographs . . . 76 The late Editor of “ Light” .... 78 Spirit Photography. By Jas. Robertson, Glasgow 85 His Opportunities for Observation . . 89 David Duguid prevailed on to try Experiments 90 Experiments in Mr. Robertson’s Warehouse . 91 John Page Hopps on Spirit Life ... 92 A beautiful Portrait obtained .... 92 Testimony by “ Edina” 93 Portrait obtained in Edinburgh of a Child . 94 Details of the Experiments to obtain it . . 95 Miscellanea. By Andrew Glendinning . . hi How Abraham Lincoln’s Spirit Photograph was obtained 115 Experiments by Professor Crookes, F.R.S. . 122 The beauty of Katie King described . . 123 Lecture by Arthur Maltby . . . .128 Lantern Transparencies, by Mr. Acton . . 129 How a Portrait was obtained without a Camera 144 ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE PHOTOGRAPH OF SPIRIT HEAD AND FACE BY DAVID DUGUID . . . Frontispiece. PORTRAIT OF DAVID DUGUID .... 25 PHOTOGRAPH OF SPIRIT BY J. TRAILL TAYLOR 29 ANOTHER PHOTOGRAPH BY J. TRAILL TAYLOR 35 PHOTOGRAPH OF A LADY AND THE SPIRIT OF HER FATHER 79 PHOTOGRAPH OF MR. STAINTON MOSES, M.A., AND SPIRIT 83 PHOTOGRAPH OF HON. M. A. DOW AND SPIRIT OF MABEL WARREN 117 PSYCHIC PICTURE OBTAINED WITHOUT A CAMERA OR EXPOSURE OF PLATE TO LIGHT 145 PSYCHIC FORM OBTAINED OCTOBER 21, 1893 . 149 MRS. GREEN AND SPIRIT 153 SPIRIT LADY PSYCHIC FORM OBTAINED APRIL 29, 1892 . 160 “Stand upright, speak thy thought, declare The truth thou hast, that all may share ; Be bold, proclaim it everywhere ; They only live who dare.” Lewis Morri . “ All great discoveries have at first been derided as ridiculous and then denounced as impious, and lastly adopted as a matter of course. Let us, then, as we have to learn to labour and to wait, stand firm for the expansion of human faculty, increase of human growth, accession to human knowledge, and welcome, as all in the day’s work, even the silent apparition or the gibbering ghost.” — Rev. H. R. Haweis, M.A. “There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.” Paul. INTRODUCTION. “ Every new truth which has ever been propounded has, for a time, caused mischief ; it has produced discomfort, and often unhappiness.” — B uckle, in History of Civilisation. What led to the recent Experiments in Psychic Photography. NUMBER of test seances for spirit photography had been held with Mr. David Duguid, of which no records have been kept, but in April and May, 1892, four seances were held under strict test conditions, notes of which were made at the time, and signed by the various persons who were present These notes were printed for private circulation, and a copy was sent, with some of the photographs, to Mr. Frederic W. H. Myers, Cambridge, (Hon. Secretary Psychical Research Society). 2 THE VEIL LIFTED. He suggested that when there was another opportunity for a test seance, the presence of a “scientific man/’ and some one well ac- quainted with photographic manipulations, be got to attend to watch the experiments. One of the investigators induced Mr. Duguid to come to London to give a seance under the strictest test conditions which could be devised; and Mr. J. Traill Taylor, Editor of the British Journal of Photography , by special request consented to take charge of the experiments, and to fix the conditions under which they should be made. Mr. Taylor combines in himself the special qualities named by Mr. Myers, inasmuch as he is a “ scientific man,” and an expert in photo- graphic chemistry, optical research, and all photographic manipulations.* Mr. Taylor is the author of several works relating to the chemistry, optics, physics, and * In a recent patent case the judge referred to Mr. Taylor as “the eminent witness.” DAVID DUGUID'S CHARACTER. practice of photography ; and besides being a member of Council of the Photographic Society of Great Britain, is an honorary member of the Imperial Polytechnic Society of Russia, and of all the leading Photographic Clubs and Societies in London, and of several in New York. Testimony Relating to David Duguid. In a book recently published, entitled The Rise and Progress of Modern Spiritualism * (consisting of a reprint of a course of lectures delivered in Glasgow by Mr. James Robert- son), the author gives the following testimony as to Mr. Duguid: — “ For many years we have had resident amongst us one whose name is world-wide, and whose character is above reproach ; go where you will, David Duguid is recognised as one of the world’s mediums. From his lips have come forth volumes full of wonderful information which he, the normal man, never gathered of himself, but which is the * Published at the office of The Two Worlds y Cor- poration Street, Manchester. Price 6 d. 4 THE VEIL LIFTED . product of intelligences who have ripened in that other sphere of existence. The story of the early life of Jesus, which is to be found in Hafed , the glimpses of ancient peoples, their manners and customs, are a valuable contribution to our know- ledge. But he has been famous as a medium for every phase of the subject, including those marvellous direct paintings which have done much missionary work, the direct voices, materialisation, perfumes, writings in language utterly unknown to him, and specially in the conclusive evidence he has been the means op furnishing as to the reality of spirit photo- graphy. The striking story contributed to Light by * Edina,’ of how a picture of the dead boy was got after patient waiting, is amongst the best - attested phenomena. The early and close friend of D. D. Home, he has revealed almost similar mediumistic gifts. One of the most genial and retiring of men, he has ever reverenced his gifts, and sought in his own modest way to give all and sundry the benefit of their light.” One of Mr. Glendinning’s private letters to the editor of a photographic journal, with reference to an intended action for libel, con- tained the following : — DAVID DUGUIDS CHARACTER. 5 “ If my counsel wishes it, I shall produce such an array of testimonials from men of position as to Mr. Duguid’s honesty and uprightness as have seldom been read in any court.” That would be an easy thing to do ; but, when it is considered that Mr. Duguid has for a long time been employed by Mr. Robertson in his bicycle works ; that Mr. Robertson, who is an active business man and a good judge of character, is year after year in almost hourly contact with Mr. Duguid ; that he has been at many of Mr. Duguid’s seances, some of these being held in his (Mr. Robertson’s) own house — when these things are borne in mind, the value of the voluntary tribute given by Mr. Robertson to Mr. Duguid’s honesty and uprightness will be the more fully appreciated. For nearly thirty years has Mr. David Duguid been before the world as a private medium for various descriptions of spirit phe- nomena. He has given innumerable seances readily, without fee or desire for reward, to 6 THE VEIL LIFTED. clergymen, medical men, artists, teachers of science, lawyers, journalists, merchants, and men and women in all ranks of life ; he has sacrificed time and money in the cause which is dear to his heart, and upon which no act or word of his has ever brought a stain. These facts are well known to many, nor would it be necessary to print them here were it not for the efforts made to destroy public con- fidence in the facts brought to light through his mediumship by writers in certain photo- graphic journals, and the artful insinuations of men who put themselves forward on the plea of being anxious investigators. Where Mr. Taylor read his Paper . At a meeting of the London and Pro- vincial Photographic Association, held on March 9, 1893, Mr. J. Weir Brown in the chair, the following paper by Mr. Taylor was read by him, and, with his consent, is reprinted from the British Journal of Photography (Vol. XL., No. 1715, March 17, 1893). mr. taylor's paper. 7 There was a large attendance of members, and several visitors were present. Visitors were allowed to make remarks, a privilege of which several availed themselves. Some members put questions to Mr. Taylor on points of detail regarding his experiments, all of which he replied to frankly and explicitly. In replying to one member, Mr. Taylor stated that he had received a letter, asking him to bring a reasonable man with him to witness his experiments — in fact, he said, he had the option of taking any one he chose. To another member Mr. Taylor replied that he himself placed the sitters and the camera, and also arranged the lighting of the room. Several members spoke highly of Mr. Taylor’s qualifications to conduct such experiments ; but as they could not accept the spiritualistic hypothesis, and as the photographs had to them the appearance of being copied from cut-out prints, or made by “ stump-work,” they concluded that therefore 8 THE VEIL LIFTED. they could not be genuine, ignoring entirely Mr. Taylor’s emphatic statements, which he had already given in his paper, viz. : — “ My conditions were entirely acquiesced in ” — that I “ should use my own camera and unopened packages of dry plates , purchased from dealers of repute , and that I should be excused from allowing a plate to go out of my own hand till after development and that “I should dictate all the conditions of operation .” As a matter of fact, everything connected with the experiments was subject to Mr. Taylor’s entire control and approval. “SPIRIT PHOTOGRAPHY,” WITH REMARKS ON FLUORESCENCE.* By J. Traill Taylor. A |^'HE presence of smoke may be considered as implying the existence of flame. Spirit photography, so called, has of late been assert- ing its existence in such a manner and to such an extent as to warrant competent men making an investigation, conducted under stringent test conditions, into the circumstances under which such photographs are produced, and exposing the fraud, should it prove to be such, instead of pooh-poohing it as insensate because we do not understand how it can be otherwise — a position that scarcely commends itself as intelligent or philosophical. If in * Reprinted from the British Journal of Photo- graphy , March 17th, 1893. io THE VEIL LIETED. what follows I call it “ spirit photography M instead of psychic photography, it is only in deference to a nomenclature that extensively prevails, and not as offering a surmise from any knowledge of my own as to what is matter and what spirit, or the distinction between mind, spirit, and matter, for in truth I don’t know. I approach the subject merely as a photographer. Before I proceed, a few words on the origin of spirit photography may not be out of place. In March, 1861, W. H. Mumler, the principal engraver in the employ of Bigelow Bros. & Kennard, the leading jewellers of Boston, when whiling away an idle hour as an amateur photographer, had a form other than that of any one present developed on his collodion plate. He surmised that it arose from an image having been previously on the plate, and its having been imperfectly cleaned off. Subjected to a more thorough cleaning, the form again appeared more strongly marked SPIRIT PHOTOGRAPHY. I I than before, and he could offer no other ex- planation than the one given. It got noised abroad through the press that a spirit had been photographed, and although M under strove to suppress the misrepresentation, as he regarded it, yet he eventually succumbed to popular demand, and took two hours a day from his regular work, devoting them to photo- graphy. This he had to extend to the whole of each day, entirely discarding his regular profession. Many men of eminence sat to him, most of whom he did not know at the time. He seems to have encouraged his sitters in the adoption of such test conditions as they deemed satisfactory. The figures that usually appeared on the plate with the sitters were, if I rightly infer, those on whom the sitters’ minds had been set. That eminent portrait photographer, Mr. Wm. Black, of Boston, so well known all over the world as the inventor of the acid nitrate bath, undertook to inves- tigate the bond fides of Mu ruler’s methods. 12 THE VEIL LIFTED . Through a friend who had just previously sat and obtained a figure, Black offered fifty dollars if Mumler would operate in his presence and obtain a picture. Invited to come, the acute Black critically examined camera, plate, dipper, and bath, and had his eye on the plate from the moment its preparation began until it was sensitised and locked in the dark slide, removing it himself from the camera, and carry- ing it into the dark room, where, on develop- ment, a figure of a man was seen leaning on B.’s shoulder. Black was wonder-stricken, and got away the negative, no charge whatever having been made. Mumler now claimed publicly to be a spirit -portrait photographer, and as such he eventually opened a studio in New York, having previously satisfied Silver, Gurney, and other photographers as to the genuineness of his claims, never hesitating to operate in their galleries if required, and with their apparatus and chemicals. Mumler was arrested in New York ; whether on the ground INVF.STIGA TIO NS. l 3 of witchcraft or of endeavouring to obtain money under false pretences, I am at present uncertain, but his trial was the sensation of the day, and numerous witnesses were examined. He was honourably acquitted. In this country, several who are amateur photographers have investigated this subject with more or less success. These include some F.R.S.’s, scientists, artists, and others. I question whether any have so persistently done so as the late Mr. John Beattie, of Clifton, and his friend, Dr. Thompson. Mr. Beattie was a skilled professional photographer of the highest eminence who, some time prior to his death, had adopted the views of the spiritualistic school. The figures he obtained on his plates were much blurred in outline, some being misty in the extreme. I possess some two or three dozen of these, taken by or in the presence of, Mr. Beattie, whose in- telligence, honesty, and powers of observation no one would venture to doubt. Many such i4 THE VEIL LIFTED. photographs are claimed to have been produced by Hudson, a professional photographer, formerly of the Holloway Road, and I submit for ex- amination a work by the late Miss Houghton, containing fifty-four of Hudson’s spirit photo- graphs. There are many ways by which, assuming the genuineness of only one of all spirit photo- graphs hitherto produced, the spurious article may be made even better than any alleged real ones I have yet seen. A plate secretly impressed previous or subsequent to being placed in the camera fulfils the condition ; so does one at the back of which is placed a phosphorescent tablet in the dark slide. Pres- sure on the surface, such as by that of a Woodbury relief film, also causes a developable image ; in short, trickery in a whole variety of forms may, and has been, impressed into the service. The higher department of fluorescence may with success be employed. Here is something PHOTOGRAPHING THE INVISIBLE. »5 to which believers in the visibility of spirit forms to a camera are quite welcome. At the time, and apropos of the Mumler trial in New York, I wrote that a good many absurd things have been said pro and con on the subject ; but a writer in the latter category, who asserted that anything that is visible to the eye of the camera, and thus capable of being depicted by photography, must therefore necessarily be visible to the human eye, was surely ignorant of that important branch of physics popularly known as fluorescence. Many things are capable of being photographed which to the physical eye are utterly invisible. Why, for that matter, a room (visually dark) may be full of the ultra-violet rays of the spectrum, and a photograph may be taken in that dark light. Objects in a room so lighted would be plainly visible to the lens of the camera— at any rate, they could be reproduced on the sensitive plate, while, at the same time, not an atom of luminousness could be perceived in l6 THE VEIL LIFTED. the room by any person possessing ordinary or normal vision. Hence the photographing of an invisible image, whether it be of a spirit or a lump of matter is not scientifically impossible. If it reflect only the ultra-violet rays of the spectrum, it will be easily photo- graphed, although quite invisible to the sharpest eye. Again, Cromwell F. Varley, F.R.S., well known as one of the most eminent of electri- cians, says ( Electric , June, 1871), when passing a current of electricity through a vacuum tube, the results of which were indicated by touches of light about the poles : — “ In one instance, although the experiment was carried on in a dark room, this light was so feeble that it could not be seen, and the operators doubted if the current were passing. But photography was at work, and in thirty minutes a very good picture was produced of what had taken place. This,” he says, “ is a remarkable fact ; indeed, it borders on the wonderful, that a FL UORESCENCE. 17 phenomenon invisible to the human eye should have been, so to speak, seen by the photo- graphic lens, and a record thereof kept by chemical agency. It is highly suggestive, and we may anticipate that it will be turned to good account by practical philosophers.’’ Some very striking phenomena in photo- graphing the invisible may be produced by the agency of fluorescence. Figures depicted upon a background by one or other of certain substances I shall presently name, although invisible to the eye, may become visible to the camera. Of these, the best known, although not the most effective, is disulphate of quinine. Such a solution, although to the eye it is colour- less like water, is to the camera as black as ink. Fill three phials respectively with water, quinine, and common writing ink, and you have two whites and one black ; but photo- graph them, and you have two blacks and one white. The camera has reduced the trans- parent quinine solution to the colour of the C 1 8 THE VEIL LIFTED. ink. Those of you who may care to experi- ment in this direction, please take notice that the quinine must be acidulated with sulphuric acid, and that hydrochloric acid, even a small trace, will destroy this property. Among other substances that are fluorescent, or that change the refrangibility of rays of light, are mineral uranite, certain salts of uranium, canary glass, alcoholic solution of chlorophyll, aesculine, tincture of stramonium seeds, and of turmeric. There are others known to be still better, but my experiments in this direction are yet too incomplete to warrant my even indicating them. Let me for a moment enter the realm of speculation, and assume that there are really spirits invisible to the eye but visible to the camera and to certain persons called seers or clairvoyants only. Might we not suggest that there is some fluorescent compound in the eyes of such persons not present in those whose eyes are normal, and that it is to this they owe FL UORESCENCE. 19 their seeing powers ? Some of you may probably be aware that Dr. Bence Jones and other philosophers have actually established the fact of such fluorescent substances being found in some eyes. May this throw any light upon the recognised fact of certain animals being able to see in the dark ? When the subject of fluorescence is more thoroughly investigated (it is a discovery of Sir D. Brewster, who was followed by Herschel and Professor Stokes, and is as yet but of yesterday), we may hope for a vast accession to our knowledge of subjects as yet very slightly understood. At the Bradford meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, in 1873, Dr. Gladstone, F.R.S., demonstrated before the Mathematical and Physical Section what I have said respecting invisible drawings on white cards having produced bold and clear photographs when no eye could see the drawings themselves, and I brought away back 20 7 HE VEIL LIFTED. to London these photographs, and, for aught I know, may have them still. To prevent this disquisition from being too dry, I will here introduce a fanciful sketch I wrote apropos of Dr. Gladstone’s demonstration! at the time mentioned : — A mischievous young lady of scientific proclivities who attended the meeting of the British Association, and who was addicted to- practical joking, listened attentively to Dr. Gladstone’s observations upon the properties- of quinine referred to, and having carefully noted the discussion that followed, reasoned within herself thus : If solution of quinine can make invisible marks upon paper, which will come out black in a photograph, it ought to do the same when applied to the skin. So she procured some of this solution, and upon her fair brow she painted with it a death’s head and cross-bones. These, of course, were invisible to human vision. Thus prepared, she went to a photographer to have her portrait A LADY'S JOKE. 21 taken. All went right until the operator went ;in to develop the plate, when she soon heard an altercation between the photographer and the attendant boy, in which it was evident that the latter was being charged with having coated an old or dirty plate. A second negative was taken, with this result, that the operator, after bestowing a puzzled, affrighted look at the lady, rushed downstairs to the principal of the establish- ment. Both returned to the dark room, and a third negative was taken, when it became evident that intense excitement was being pro- duced in the dark room. After an excuse to the lady about there being electricity in the atmosphere, which had affected the chemicals, she was requested to sit once more. Scarcely had the plate been developed, when both photographer and assistant rushed out from the dark room, pale and excited, and explained that on the brow of the sitter in each negative was emblazoned the insignia of the 22 THE VEIL LIFTED. King of Terrors. The negatives were produced, leaving no doubt of the fact. What was to be done ? The sitter hinted something about not being disposed to be made a fool of by one who she was satisfied was a spirit photographer, and that she, for one, would not allow herself to become the victim of such absurdity. This upset the equanimity of the photographer, who expressed his earnest conviction that she was an emissary and personal friend of the common enemy of mankind. “ I shall look in again to-morrow,” said the lady, in her sweetest tones, “ if you promise not to play any of your silly ghost tricks upon me.” “ Not for ten thousand worlds,” said the artist, “ shall you ever set foot within my studio again !” “ Oh,” she laughingly rejoined, “ I shall drop in through the roof and visit you some day when you are disengaged and with that she departed. A LADY’S JOKE. 2 3 “ I knew it ! ” gasped the photographer. “ I felt a sulphurous odour the moment I came near her. Send immediately for my friend, the Rev. , and get him to offer prayer, and free the studio from the evil influences remaining after a visitation from one whose feet, although clad in boots, would, if examined, be found to be cloven.” For several years I have experienced a strong desire to ascertain by personal investi- gation the amount of truth in the ever-recurring allegation that figures other than those visually present in the room appeared on a sensitive plate. The difficulty was to get hold of a suitable person known as a sensitive or “ medium.” What a medium is, or how phy- sically or mentally constituted to be different from other mortals, I am unable to say. He or she may not be a photographer, but must be present on each occasion of trial. Some may be mediums without their being aware of it. Like the chemical principle known as 24 THE VEIL LIFTED. catalysis, they merely act by their presence. Such a one is Mr. D. of Glasgow, in whose presence psychic photographs have long been alleged to be obtained. He was lately in London on a visit, and a mutual friend got him to consent to extend his stay in order that I might try to get a psychic photograph under test conditions. To this he willingly agreed. My conditions were exceedingly simple, were courteously expressed to the host, and entirely acquiesced in. They were, that I for the nonce would assume them all to be trick- sters, and, to guard against fraud, should use my own camera and unopened packages of dry plates purchased from dealers of repute, and that I should be excused from allowing a plate to go out of my own hand till after develop- ment, unless I felt otherwise disposed ; but that, as I was to treat them as under suspicion, so must they treat me, and that every act I performed must be in presence of two witnesses, nay, that I would set a watch upon my own David Duguid. PERSONAL EXPERIMENTS. 27 camera in the guise of a duplicate one of the same focus — in other words, I would use a binocular stereoscopic camera and dictate all the conditions of operation. All this I was told was what they very strongly wished me to do, as they desired to know the truth and that only. There were present, during one or other of the evenings when the trials were made, representatives of various schools of thought, including a clergyman of the Church of Eng- land ; a practitioner of the healing art who is a fellow of two learned societies ; a gentleman who graduated in the Hall of Science in the days of the late Charles Bradlaugh ; two ex- tremely hard-headed Glasgow merchants, gentle- men of commercial eminence and probity ; our host, his wife, the medium, and myself. Dr. G. was the first sitter, and, for a reason known to myself, I used a monocular camera. I my- self took the plate out of a packet just pre- viously ripped up under the surveillance of my two detectives. I placed the slide in my pocket 28 THE VEIL LIFTED. and exposed it by magnesium ribbon which I held in my own hand, keeping one eye, as it were, on the sitter and the other on the camera. There was no background. I myself took the plate from the dark slide, and, under the eyes of the two detectives, placed it in the developing dish. Between the camera and the sitter a female figure was developed, rather in a more pronounced form than that of the sitter. The lens was a portrait one of short focus ; the figure being somewhat in front of the sitter, was pro- portionately larger in dimensions. I submit this picture (see opposite). It is, as you see, a lady. I do not recognise her or any of the other figures I obtained as being like any one I know, and from my point of view, that of a mere investigator and experimentalist, not caring whether the psychic subject were embodied or disembodied. Many experiments of like nature followed ; on some plates were abnormal appearances, on others none. All this time Mr. D., the medium, during the exposure of the plates, was quite Photograph of a Psychic Lady. PERSONAL EXPERIMENTS. 3 1 inactive. After one trial, which had proved successful, I asked him how he felt and what he had been thinking of during the exposure. He replied that his thoughts had been mainly concentrated upon his chances of securing a corner seat in a smoking carriage that night from Euston to Glasgow. If the precautions I took during all of the several experiments, such as those recorded, are by any of you thought to have been imperfect or incomplete, I pray of you to point them out. In some of them I relaxed my conditions to the extent of getting one of those present to lift out from the dark slide the exposed plate and transfer it to the developing dish held by myself, or to lift a plate from the manufacturer’s package into the dark slide held in my own hand, this being done under my own eye, which was upon it all the time ; but this did not seem to interfere with the average on-going of the experiments. The psychic figures behaved badly. Some 3 2 THE VEIL LIFTED. were in focus, others not so ; some were lighted from the right, while the sitter was so from the left ; some were comely, as the dame I shall show on the screen, others not so ; some monopolised the major portion of the plate, quite obliterating the material sitters ; others were as if an atrociously badly vignetted por- trait, or one cut oval out of a photograph by a can-opener, or equally badly clipped- out, were held up behind the sitter. But here is the point : not one of these figures which came out so strongly in the negative was visible in any form or shape to me during the time of ex- posure in the camera, and I vouch in the strongest manner for the fact that no one what- ever had an opportunity of tampering with any plate anterior to its being placed in the dark slide or immediately preceding development. Pictorially they are vile, but how came they there ? Now, all this time, I imagine you are won- dering how the stereoscopic camera was be- THE CAMERA. 33 having itself as such. It is due to the psychic entities to say that whatever was produced on one half of the stereoscopic plates was repro- duced on the other, alike good or bad in definition. But on a careful examination of one which was rather better than the other, and which is now about to be projected on the lantern screen for your examination (see page 35), I deduce this fact, that the impressing of the spirit form was not consentaneous with that of the sitter. This I consider an important discovery. I carefully examined one in the stereoscope, and found that, while the two sitters were stereo- scopic per se, the psychic figure was absolutely flat. I also found that the psychic figure was at least a millimetre higher up in one than the other. Now, as both had been simultaneously exposed, it follows to demonstration that, although both were correctly placed vertically in relation to the particular sitter behind whom the figure appeared, and not so horizontally, this figure had not only not been impressed on D 34 THE VEIL LIFTED. the plate simultaneously with the two gentle- men forming the group, but had not been formed by the lens at all, and that, therefore* the psychic image might be produced without a camera. I think this is a fair deduction. But still the question obtrudes, How came these figures there ? I again assert that the plates were not tampered with by either myself or any one present. Are they crystallisations of thought? Have lens and light really nothing to do with their formation ? The whole subject was mysterious enough on the hypothesis of an invisible spirit, whether a thought projection or an actual spirit, being really there in the vicinity of the sitter, but it is now a thousand times more so. There are plenty of Tycho Brahes capable of supplying details of obser- vations, but who is to be the Kepler that will from such observations evolve a law by which they can be satisfactorily explained ? In the foregoing I have confined myself as closely as possible to narrating how I conducted Abnormal Portrait of Lady / REMARKS. 37 a photographic experiment open to every one to make, avoiding stating any hypothesis or belief of my own on the subject generally, and it only now remains to exhibit the results, bad and fraudulent - looking as they are, on the screen . REMARKS BY MEMBERS AND VISITORS. Having finished the reading of his paper, Mr. TAYLOR exhibited by the aid of the lantern, slides from some of the negatives he had obtained. A series of “ Spirit Photographs,” the work of Mr. Hudson, formerly of Holloway Road, and some French photographers, were also shown by Mr. Maltby, a visitor, who was introduced by Mr. Taylor. Messrs. Downey, P. Everitt, W. E. Deben- 3 » THE VEIL LIFTED. ham, F. A. Bridge, A. Cowan, A. Haddon, J. S.. Teape, A. Mackie, and others took part in the meeting, but their remarks, for the most part,, were characteristic of unacquaintance with the subject. Mr. A. Glendinning explained that it had originally been intended to have had the photographs taken in the studio of a West-end photographer, but that gentleman had with- drawn his consent owing to his religious views,, expressing the opinion that such experiments were dangerous, if not wicked. The experi- ments were therefore made in the drawing- room of a house in Dalston. Mr. W. E. DEBENHAM asked if it would be possible to repeat the experiments in the pre- sence of the same medium and two members of the London and Provincial Photographic Association. [This question was answered at a later period of the meeting, when the suggestion, was made by the Chairman.] REMARKS. 39 Mr. GLENDINNING said he had been in- terested in the subject of psychic photography for twenty-eight years, and he asked permission from the Chairman to make a few remarks. This being readily and courteously granted, he said, “ Do the members of this Society, who are now present, believe that Mr. Taylor is com- petent for the investigation which he recently undertook ? I do not mean, are you prepared to endorse his statements regarding the results of his recent experiments ? I do not mean merely, do you consider Mr. Taylor an honest investigator ? There are many honest men who would not be considered qualified to watch with sufficient care and accuracy experiments in photographic manipulations. There are others who are honest and upright, and who are skilful in the ordinary routine of photographic work, who may possess very little knowledge of chemistry or of optics, in their relation to practical photography. Others, again, may be honest men, skilful manipulators, and adepts in 4 o THE VEIL LIFTED. chemistry and in optics, but too opinionative to conduct such experiments as those under consideration. Well, then, gentlemen, looking at the matter all round, I put it to you this way. My own belief, my strong conviction, is this, that Mr. Taylor is well qualified in every respect for the very important and, I would add, the very solemn task which he undertook. A man with an open mind, prepared to — ‘ Accept the truth where’er ’tis found, On Christian or on heathen ground?’ possessed of shrewdness, tact, an eye like a hawk’s, watchful and ready to detect the slightest attempt at trickery or fraud, with an integrity of purpose and an independent outspokenness which would lead him fear- lessly to expose and denounce those who would so far forget themselves as to trifle with the most sacred feelings of our nature, by attempting to palm off as abnormal and strange that which is but a miserable counter- REMARKS. 41 feit of a grand reality. Gentlemen, do you uphold me in my view that Mr. Taylor was the right man for the experiments to which reference has been made? (Applause and expressions of approval.) I thank you for this expression of your opinion. I do not wish to corner you ; I do not wish to trap you into a seeming acquiescence with views which you have not considered. My desire is to be perfectly frank ; but there are reasons, into which I need not enter now, why I have put before you the statements and the ques- tion to which you have responded. Well, supposing for the moment that Mr. Taylor’s report of his experiments is an accurate statement, that portraits have appeared on his plates, and have been printed from his plates, which cannot be accounted for by any known agency, it seems to me to be a fair conclusion to arrive at, that there were other persons present at those experiments besides the ladies and gentlemen who could be seen with the 42 THE VEIL LIFTED. normal vision ; that these unseen visitors were exhibiting an active and intelligent interest in the matter, and that they were aiding by their co-operation to produce the abnormal images which appeared on the plates. Call these unseen visitors by the name which may commend itself to you as most fairly descrip- tive ; call them spooks, or ghosts, or astrals, or elementals, or even, if you prefer to do so,, call them devils. I call them spirit friends — ex-carnated human beings — that is what they profess to be, and that is what, in an ex- perience of such matters extending over a good many years, I have always had good reason to believe them to be. Therefore I transfer the name from the principal operators to the pictures themselves, and I call the latter spirit photographs. Likewise, because the abnormal portraits, so far as they have been recognised, are portraits of persons who have cast off the earthly tabernacle, I claim that the name spirit photographs, or photo- REMARKS. 43 graphs of spirits, is as near as we can get to accuracy in the present state of our know- ledge.” Mr. F. A. Bridge said they were bound to believe Mr. Taylor’s statement ; but, as practical photographers, though the pictures shown might be spirit photographs, he thought they gave them the idea of cut-out prints, but as to who cut them out he did not know and did not care. He, however, did not for one moment wish to impute any complicity or dishonesty to Mr. Glendinning in connexion with the experiments, for that gentleman appeared (as he had said) merely to have been desirous of arriving at the truth. Mr. Debenham quite agreed with Mr. Bridge as to Mr. Glendinning’s bond fides in the matter. He would propose, if possible, a committee be formed to be present at some similar seance. A Member stated that Mr. Taylor’s ex- periments had been vitiated to some extent 44 THE VEIL LIFTED. by his not having the whole of the conditions under his own control (a remark to which Mr. Taylor does not seem to have thought it necessary to reply, as he had already dis- tinctly stated that the whole of the conditions were subject to his. entire control). Professor A. Haddon observed that if spirits gave out ultra-violet rays, it would be advisable to use lenses made of quartz, as they would have a far better way of rendering such sub- jects on the plate than with ordinary lenses, which cut off ultra-violet. Again, had different eyes different powers as regards the taking in and cutting out of different rays? Mr. Friese Greene had shown how it was possible to allow an impression to be made on the retina, and then to be transferred to a plate. Most probably only certain people possessed this power, for it was curious no one had repeated the experiment with success. Mr. T. Shorter said he had had some experience of the subject, and in many in- REMARKS. 45 stances such portraits had been distinctly recognised as those of relatives and friends, and it was not by any means a peculiar experience. The late Mr. Beattie, of Clifton, obtained portraits of this kind through Mr. Hudson, to whom he went in a very sceptical spirit. Hudson allowed him to go through all the manipulations himself ; Mr. Beattie took his own plates, and inverted them before they were exposed. On one picture, after it was taken he recognised the portrait of his own brother. He (Mr. Shorter) knew of a good many instances of a similar kind. For instance, he said, Dr. Alfred Russel Wallace had had no hesitation in recognising portraits so obtained. Of course there were many taken in this way that could not be identified ; but, on the other hand, there were many that could. He could quote forty instances where people could identify them. A Member explained how a collection of portraits of deceased persons can be made 46 THE VEIL LIFTED. by professional photographers. He stated his firm sometimes receive such portraits to copy, and at times when they deliver the copies they pretend that the original pictures are lost or injured ; so the customers have nothing to compare the copies with. This brought forth the rebuke from Mr. Maltby (a visitor) that the conduct of the firm might be “ smart,” but could not be con- sidered honest. Mr. Arthur Maltby said the spirit forms which are photographed were created from the aura that escapes from sensitive subjects. Some years ago a gentleman went to a photographer to have a portrait taken, and, instead of his portrait appearing, as he expected, that of a man who had been abroad for many years, and of whom he knew nothing, appeared on the plate. Some weeks after- wards a telegram came announcing that the man, whose spirit photograph had appeared on the plate, was shot. Again, during the REMARKS. 47 last Austrian war, an officer who had never been photographed in his regimentals appeared to a brother officer as a photographed spirit. On one occasion the figure of a small child appeared in the centre of a picture. The child had been dead nearly fifty years, but was recognised after that lapse of time. He suggested that a photograph could be taken to prove that fluid rays pass from a sensitive, like photographic rays of light. This aura, which was the material emanating from all parts of the body, was collected to form the portraits of those who wished to prove the immortality of the soul. Mr. J. Weir Brown (the chairman) said that although the pictures shown that night by Mr. Maltby might be recognised as spirit photographs, they had only to do with Mr. Traill Taylor’s experiments,* and he was bound to * On taking the chair, Mr. Brown said he did not know why they had chosen him to preside that evening, unless it was because he knew nothing whatever of the subject. 4 8 THE VEIL LIFTED. say that some of the examples shown bore evidence of being patchwork on the plates, and not similar to those that were shown by Mr. Maltby. Mr. Taylor’s results were very mysterious ; and, although Mr. Taylor himself was very watchful, there was nothing to lead them to any conclusion on the matter, so that it must remain a mystery. He suggested that Mr. Glendinning should provide an occa- sion, if he could, for the London and Pro- vincial Photographic Association to send a small committee to take part in similar experi- ments, and he was sure that they would only send fair-minded men to represent them.* Mr. Glendinning, in reply, said he would be willing to use his influence to get such experiments carried on in the presence of the same medium later in the year. (Hear, hear.) * This sensible proposal has been entirely set aside by subsequent insinuations of the Association, directed against those who were witnesses to the experiments, and by the passing a resolution of such a character as to lead to dissension within the Association. PORTRAIT WITHOUT EXPOSURE. 49 He said that his friend, the medium, had so much confidence in Mr. Traill Taylor, that probably he would carefully consider Mr. Taylor’s suggestions in the matter. Mr. TAYLOR asked why they should expect Mr. Glendinning, who is not a member of the society, to be at the trouble for them. He suggested that the society appoint a committee to investigate the subject, and advertise for the services of a suitable medium with whom to try experiments. Portrait obtained without Exposure in the Camera * Towards the close of the proceedings, Mr. Glendinning handed to the chairman, and to some of the members sitting near him, a print of a psychic portrait from a negative obtained without the plate being exposed in the camera, or to light of any kind excepting that given * See note, page 50. 5o THE VEIL LIFTED. by a nightlight in a dark lantern to develop by. The experiment was made in consequence of a conversation with Mr. Taylor (after his experiments were concluded), and about an hour before the medium left for his return journey. An Ilford dry plate had been taken by Mr. Glendinning from a new packet, put in clean paper, and held by the medium, in the dark room, between the palms of his hands ; Mr. Glendinning placed his hands above and below those of the medium ; he then took the plate and placed it in his developing tray, when a full-length figure appeared, clear and distinct, although without artistic effect. The negative was in Mr. Taylor’s possession at the meeting. The proceedings closed with a vote of thanks to Mr. Taylor for his paper. Note. — With regard to one or more of the psychic portraits taken by Mr. Taylor on his own plates, in which he found that the psychic NOTE ON PORTRAITS. 51 image had not been formed by the lens at all, and with regard to the important discovery made by Mr. Glendinning, in a later experi- ment with his friend, the medium, it would be a mistake to conclude that the psychic images on photographic plates are always produced in this way. There are many spirit photographs, regarding which all the evidence is in favour of the theory that they are produced by the agency of the camera at the same time as the sitters. With respect to one of the pictures taken by Mr. Taylor, and shown by him on the lantern screen, the sitter, after Mr. Taylor left the room to develop the plate, stated to those present that there ought to be on the plate a spirit form to his right and nearer the camera than himself, as he felt “ drapery like a robe of silky crape pass him at the right side when the photograph was being taken.” When Mr. Taylor appeared with the developed picture, it showed a full- length female form, with a white robe, but no 5 2 THE VEIL LIFTED. drapery about the head or shoulders. The sitter further stated that, during the exposure of the plate, his mind was occupied in calcu- lating some sums in arithmetic, so that the. psychic form could not be considered to be a photographic representation of his thoughts. PRESS NOTICES. From The Practical Photographer , April , 1893* Psychic Photography. — At a recent London and Provincial meeting, Mr. J. Traill Taylor showed some negatives of what are commonly called “ spirit photographs,” which he had taken under test conditions. He had bought ordinary commercial plates from a well-known commercial dealer, and exposed them at a recent seance held in the north of London. He took his own stereoscopic camera, opened the original packets of plates and filled the slides himself in the presence of two gentlemen. He exposed them by * The Practical Photographer. Monthly, id. Double number containing copies of Photographic Views, &c., on fine plate paper, 2 d. Published by Percy Lund & Co., Memorial Hall, Ludgate Circus, E.C. ; also by L. N. Howler, and by John Hey wood. 54 THE VEIL LIFTED. magnesium light upon two sitters, one of whom was alleged to be a “ medium,” and immediately developed them himself. On development some of them showed other figures (in addition to those of the sitters) which had not been visibly present when the exposure was made. The exposures were made in the afternoon in an ordinary drawing-room,, when it was far from dark, and the magne- sium light was supplementary to the daylight. Prints from the resulting negatives, viewed in the stereoscope, showed the sitters in relief, but the “ ghosts ” with the appearance of flatness. We are almost surprised at Mr. Taylor’s temerity in bringing forward such a subject before such an audience, when he knows full well the unreasoning prejudice with which the subject is met. Like the brothers of Dives, “ they would not be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.” We do not imagine that Mr. Taylor wished to convince his hearers of anything, but surely he was over- sanguine REVIEWS. 55 if he even expected fair investigation or criticism. Before he came forward in this matter, he would have been taken as a com- petent investigator — in fact, the meeting in question passed a resolution to the effect that he was a “ reliable person, and a gentleman well qualified to conduct such an experiment as had been described.” Yet, when he states that fraud was impossible, he is at once con- demned as either an incompetent or an im- postor — preferably the former. A committee was appointed to investigate the matter. Will they be believed if they give a report similar to that of Mr. Taylor’s ? Or will they only be be- lieved if they give the report that is expected ? Referring to the unsuccessful attempt made in another photographic journal to throw doubt upon Mr. Taylor’s experiments by raising a cry of trickery, the Practical Photographer makes this sensible observation : — “ Surely this is a miserable evasion of the 5 6 THE VEIL LIFTED. main point at issue, which is not whether the medium was capable of fraud if he got the chance, but whether Mr. Taylor is believable when he asserts that the chance for fraud was not given.” In the May issue of the same journal there is the following : — “ Five correspondents write on this head ; but they only bring forward experiences of many years ago, references to the News and Journal of old dates, and similar evidence. The letters are interesting, but we cannot find room for a correspondence on the subject. Of testimony there is more than enough. Those who can be convinced by testimony are probably convinced already, if they have examined the subject. If the matter is to be advanced further, it must be by careful experiments under test conditions, and such experiments will not satisfy the active objectors unless they can be repeated to order, and, so REVIEWS . 57 far as we know, no one has claimed to be able to do this. Only new tests, well authen- ticated, are of use in our columns at present. Any such we are prepared to publish, with reproduction of the alleged psychic photographs if desired.” The Review of Reviews , April , 1893. In the Reviezv of Reviews * for April, there is a reproduction of one of the spirit photo- graphs taken by Mr. Traill Taylor, and also of the portrait obtained by Mr. Glendinning and Mr. Duguid, without the use of a camera, and without exposing the prepared dry plate to light until after it was developed and fixed. Mr. Stead refers to Mr. Taylor as a well-known photographic journalist, of unquestionable good faith, and prints the details of the experiments * The Review of Reviews , monthly, 6 d. 125 Fleet Street, London ; Editorial Office, Mowbray House, Norfolk Street, Strand, W.C. 58 THE VEIL LIFTED. as given in Mr. Taylor’s paper. Dr. Alfred Russel Wallace, F.R.S., who has had much ex- perience in this subject, and possesses a large collection of spirit photographs, thinks the most interesting results of the recent experiments are those in which the form of one of the sitters is blended with the form of the psychic portrait ; but Mr. Stead thinks the portrait obtained without the camera the most interesting. He concludes his article thus : — “ Mr. Glendinning assures me most posi- tively that the plate had not been tampered with. If so, it is to be hoped Mr. Duguid will repeat the last experiment under test conditions. It is much the most interesting of the lot.* “ The illustrations are badly developed, but they suffice to show that the plate was sensitive * This experiment has since been tried with a different medium, and successful 1'esults obtained. The plates used were Ilford make, special rapid, and were purchased from Mr. Doublet, Moorgate Street. REVIEWS. 59 to the presence of entities invisible to the human eye. Everything, of course, depends upon the accuracy and honesty of the photo- grapher ; and the reputation of Mr. Taylor and Mr. Glendinning is above reproach.” From The Morning , April 4I/1, 1893. The recent lecture on “ Spirit Photography/' given by Mr. J. Traill Taylor before a large audience, composed of the members of the London and Provincial Photographic Associa- tion and their friends, is being much talked about in photographic circles. Mr. Taylor, whose personal bond fides in the matter are admitted to be quite above suspicion, showed upon an ordinary lantern screen the results which he had obtained. The conditions under which the spirit experiments were conducted were as follows: — Mr. Taylor used his own binocular stereoscopic camera, and provided himself with unopened packages of “ Ilford ” 6o THE VEIL LIFTED. dry plates, purchased from dealers of repute. He exposed the plates by means of magne- sium ribbon in the presence of a medium. At the first attempt, between the camera and the sitter a female figure was developed. On several of the other plates exposed various figures were also discovered. It was distinctly asserted by Mr. Taylor that none of these were visible to him at any time during the exposure in the camera, and he vouched that no one had the slightest opportunity of tampering with the plates before they were placed in the dark slide or immediately pre- ceding development. From The Medium and Daybreak , March 24 th, 1893.* The Experiments in Spirit Photo- graphy. — We call attention to certain im- portant points in Mr. Taylor’s paper and the * The Medium and Daybreak , weekly, i\d. James Burne, 15 Southampton Row, W.C. REVIEWS. 61 remarks which follow it. The first considera- tion is, that nothing should be jumped at as fraud, though it may appear to be so. Mr. Taylor has taken a strong, manly position in exhibiting photographs which have all the appearance of being spurious, and yet he knows they are not so. A man in a position less eminent could not afford to be so bold. Mr. Glendinning dwells on this feature of the investigation in an excellent manner. The photograph obtained without exposure at all, described at the close of the report, suggests a means of producing pictures quite unknown to science or photographic art. It, in its way, resembles the direct writing on closed slates, or on unopened packets of paper. But on carefully examining Mr. Taylor’s nega- tives it appears as if the spirit figures had not been cut out and stuck on, but there is a blending of the one picture with the other, showing plainly that a different mode of operation was at work. 62 THE VEIL LIFTED. We have often observed in our lectures that the nature of the image differs in the pictures of every spirit photographer. Evi- dently the photographers on the other side have taken up Mr. Taylor’s challenge to in- vestigate in a very serious manner, and have shown some of their skill to set the brains of mortal photographers on the alert for a more comprehensive knowledge of the possibilities involved in their art. Let this thought dwell in the mind of every reader, that many of the so-called “ frauds ” attributed to spiritual experiment have not been frauds at all, but the hasty conclusions of that unworthy suspicion which is begotten of ignorance. Such conclusions bring the subject to a standstill, whereas a tentative and trustful investigation would lead to most important discoveries. We rejoice to see the healthy direction which the present experiments have taken. REVIEWS. 63 From Light , March iSth, 1893.* We invite the special attention of our readers to a report in our present issue, of experiments in “ Psychic Photography,” con- ducted by Mr. J. Traill Taylor. Never before, so far as we are aware, has the investigation of this, one of the most interesting of Spiritual- istic phenomena, been undertaken by a man so competent in every way for the work, enjoying, as he does, a high reputation for his scientific attainments in his own special department, and for his powers of keen and careful observation. Using his own camera and plates, and conducting the operations with his own hands, he succeeded in photographing figures, “ not one of which,” he avers, “ had been visible in any form or shape during the time of exposure in the camera.” But more than this, by observing the results on the * Light , weekly, 2 d. Published at 2 Duke Street, Adelphi, London, W.C. 6 4 THE VEIL LIFTED. occasion when a stereoscopic camera was em- ployed, he arrived at the conclusion that — as some Spiritualists have long thought to be probable — the figure developed had not been formed by the lens, and the psychic image might be produced without the camera at all. It will be interesting to observe what Mr. Taylor’s photographic brethren will have to say to him ; for ourselves we tender him our hearty thanks. From LiGHT y March 25 thy 1893. The importance of this address can scarcely be exaggerated, and for two reasons, — one, that we have a scientific photographer, of the first rank, treating the subject publicly before a body of men, the majority of whom would, presumably, be at least sceptical ; and, next, that in the address there were advanced certain speculations which may not only help to the - elucidation of the means whereby such photo- REVIEWS. 6 5 graphs are produced, but also throw light upon the great problem of Spiritualism itself. Of the experiments which have been already described we have nothing to say, except that, unless fraud be admitted as having been possible, figures were produced on the plates which could only have got there in some abnormal way. Fraud, however, seems to have been about as impossible as it could be under any circumstances whatever. Mr. Taylor used his own camera. The plates were bought from dealers of repute, and the parcel was opened in view of two witnesses, witnesses above suspicion. Mr. Taylor insisted that he should keep the plates in his own hands until after development, and this caution he relaxed only so far as getting one of those present to lift out from the dark slide the exposed plate and transfer it to the developing dish held by himself, or to transfer a plate from the manufacturer’s package into the dark slide held by his own hand. Unless, therefore, F 66 THE VEIL LIFTED. there had been connivance on the part of the “ dealers of repute ” who supplied the plates,, which is out of the question, or the persons present were all of them leagued together to cheat, we are forced to the conclusion that the results were genuine. . . . A few more words must be given to Mr. Traill Taylor. The importance of his lectures has been dealt with elsewhere, but it can bear emphasising here. Facts, or what appear to be facts, we have in plenty, but the explana- tion of these facts, except theoretically, is not so common. Anything which sheds even the faintest glimmer on the meaning of these facts is supremely welcome, and this glimmer, or more than glimmer, Mr. Taylor has pro- duced. It will be strange if that “ fluorescence ” which has been so relied upon for the general theory of fraud should turn out to be the means of demonstrating the opposite. REVIEWS. 67 From Light , May 6th, 1893. It was not to be expected that Mr. Traill Taylor’s photographs would be left unchal- lenged. But as it is impossible to impute fraud to Mr. Taylor or his associates, the objectors are thrown back on somewhat flimsy arguments. A letter to the Christian World may perhaps be taken fairly well to represent the kind of argument. The letter is signed “ F. Gass.” Of course we know that fraudulent spirit photographs have been plentifully sold, but because there is a large amount of falsehood in the world it does not follow that there is no truth. But let us see how Mr. Taylor is treated by this critic : “Mr. Taylor says these forms were invisible to watchers in the room,, and were, therefore, disembodied spirits.” There is no such “therefore” in Mr. Taylor’s address. What he did say was : “In the fore- going I have confined myself as closely as possible to narrating how I conducted a photo- 68 THE VEIL LIFTED. graphic experiment open to every one to make, avoiding stating any hypothesis or belief of my own on the subject generally.” The writer takes exception to Mr. Taylor’s statement that the figures when examined by the stereoscope were absolutely flat ; because “the figures were solid enough to obscure a view of the sitting medium when they stood between him and the camera.” That is, Mr. Gass knows all about solidity, and what could or could not be done by what Mr. Taylor is careful to call a “ psychic entity.” That there is any appearance of light and shade in the engraving as it is in the Review of Reviews proves nothing ; even if it is there, we have Mr. Taylor’s assertion that in the photograph he examined with the stereoscope the “ psychic figure was absolutely flat.” As to the nonsense about the clothing of the figures and the draper’s shops in Ghost-land we have nothing to say. Mr. Gass then falls foul of photo- - graphs being taken without the employment REVIEWS. 69 of a lens. Such a thing would be a miracle. So Mr. Gass knows what a miracle is. “ To obtain a portrait on a plate, light is impera- tively necessary, and to obtain an image of a figure it must be brought into focus by the lens of a camera.” Of course, if these things “ must ” be so, there is an end of the matter, but the experiment went to disprove the necessity of this “ must.” And what is “ light ” ? Has Mr. Gass any knowledge of the spectrum, and could he himself “see” the actinic rays which produce the pictures on the sensitised plate ? From the “ Two Worlds ,” March 24 th, 1893.* Mr. Taylor is, perhaps, the most compe- tent and reputable man who, as an experienced and scientific photographer, has undertaken * The Two Worlds , weekly id., published by The Two Worlds Publishing Company, Limited, 73 A Corporation Street, Manchester. 7 ° THE VEIL LIFTED . such experiments, hence his testimony is all the more valuable. The medium was Mr. David Duguid, and the results are of great importance. Mr. A. Glendinning, who brought about the sittings, deserves the thanks of all Spiritu- alists. “I suppose there is nothing more difficult than for scientific people to realise that the dead aie living.” VER since the appearance of the more than sensational “ Real Ghost Stories ” and “ More Ghost Stories ” — which are, like the ghosts, still appearing — a great and calm tolerance of the occult made manifest seems to have diffused itself throughout English society. People are bringing out their own private little bogey stories, of which they used to be quite ashamed, and, what is more curious, they are bringing out their bogey photos, both of which things reveal the fact how many more ghost stories and ghost photos are about than people seem generally to have * Reprinted from the Daily Graphic, June 23rd, 1892, by permission of the Rev. Mr. Haweis and of the Editor. Rev. H. R. Haweis, M.A. GHOSTS AND THEIR PHOTOGRAPHS.* By the Rev. H. R. Haweis, M.A. 72 THE VEIL LIFTED. imagined. Only the other day I was told of a young lady who went down to Brighton to an ordinary photographer. She sat as an ordinary sitter, suspecting nothing. The plate came out blurred all over ; photographer sur- prised, and on point of casting plate aside, when sitter begs to see it, and further begs to have it printed off. Result — photo blurred all over, sitter unrecognisable ; when subjected to high magnifyer, milky way of blue reveals innumerable faces, but all the same face ! Recognised by young lady at once as face of dead lover. This is the kind of story which is becoming tiresomely common, and often bewilderingly well evidenced. Now, unless I had thought this question of alleged appearances — palpable enough to be seen, perhaps photographed — might have a grave side to it, I should not have for two Sundays rung the changes, and the pros and cons, in the pulpit, and pointed out the momentous connexion between such manifes- SHOW ME THE GHOST. 73