Reddit mentions of Sleeping Beauty: Memorial Photography in America

http://www.amazon.com/Sleeping-Beauty-Memorial-Photography-America/dp/0942642325/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1251470070&sr=8-5

five minutes of research tells me it isn't an "internet myth". the burns archive, for one, not to mention the 3 volume Sleeping Beauty book series, which was published in 1990 and is what brought post-mortem photography back into the public consciousness.

I mean it wasn't beanie baby levels of popular, but I feel like you're downplaying what it actually was.

that said, I absolutely agree that this woman likely isn't dead, but I can see why people would make the comparison.

Your wish is my command.

Book 1
Book 2

On the Blu-ray, or perhaps it was the DVD since I rented it, The Haunting In Connecticut is a short documentary about how it was once normal in America to keep deceased relatives in the home for a funeral and it was common to take photos with them. The author that narrated the short had done a picture book on the topic, now out of print and selling for astronomical prices on Amazon used. The documentary is only available on one version of the film, not sure which, and IMO it's better than the film. Here's the description.

Memento Mori: The History of Postmortem Photography" (10:26) has author Stanley B. Burns talking about this odd practice.

Here's the book. http://www.amazon.com/Sleeping-Beauty-Memorial-Photography-America/dp/0942642325?ie=UTF8&keywords=Stanley%20b.%20Burns&qid=1465467096&ref_=sr_1_1&sr=8-1

Here's someone looking at the photos online describing the once popular phenomena.

https://youtu.be/UTMUjAvEFho

This is actually a death photo (it's the last example in the work Sleeping Beauty : Memorial Photography in America) which used to be a tradition. You'll notice that the woman lying down looks more pale and rigid (you can see the obvious rigor mortis in her legs and feet), and has much more makeup on her face. The radio was placed where it is to hide the base of the wire scaffolding that is used to frame her body as if she's playing cards. The work was commissioned by her husband who couldn't accept his wife's sudden death.