The Double Casket of Thomas & Mary Souder
I remember rummaging through an old trunk in my grandmother’s house when I was a child and coming across what seemed to me at the time a very unusual photograph. It was a monochromatic image of a beautiful, young woman lying in a white casket (not dissimilar to the photo on the left). Curious, I […]
Beauty & the Macabre: The World of Dr Paul Koudounaris
“Where do you find your hats?” I ask Dr Paul Koudounaris, writer, art historian, photographer… or as he’d like me to describe him, bon vivant. “Oh, you know. Wherever these things are found.” He replies, nonchalantly, his ringed fingers waving the question away as if the answer were blatantly obvious. No, I don’t actually know, […]
Buried Alive: 19th-Century Safety Coffins
In 1822, Dr Adolf Gutsmuth set out to conquer his fear of being buried alive by consigning himself to the grave in a ‘safety coffin’ that he had designed himself. For several hours, he remained underground, during which time he consumed a meal of soup, sausages and beer—all delivered to him through a convenient feeding […]