No. 3 plate, with supernormal portrait, proved to be undeniably the portrait of the deceased mother of the wife of my friend. On comparing it with a life portrait it left no doubt in the mind of any reasonable person.
The portrait on No. 4 plate I cannot recognise.
I have a profound conviction that Mr. Hope is a genuine medium, honest and straightforward, and it would take a great deal to shake my confidence in his integrity. I have followed his operations for years, and find them a fruitful source of instruction. It is only those who have experimented in “fake” effects who can realise the difficulties, and with a knowledge of photography I challenge any professional or amateur photographer to produce anything approaching the same effects under any conditions. They find it absolutely impossible under the same conditions.
It is unthinkable that Mr. and Mrs. Buxton would co-operate, aid and abet in a continuous fraud on the widowed wife, the sorrowing parent.
(Signed) W. G. Mitchell.
3, Harewood Terrace, Darlington.
An Account by J. WILLIAMS, ESQ., PHOTOGRAPHIC SPECIALIST, OF THE PORTLAND STUDIO, RHYL
It is with the greatest pleasure that I add my testimony to the truthfulness and absolute sincerity of Mr. Hope and Mrs. Buxton.
They have been known to me for several years; altogether no less than six times I have had sittings with them. In every case they have allowed me every facility to eliminate any possible fraud, which as a photographer of nearly fifty years’ experience, I was eager to discover.
One experience with the Crewe Circle was this: at one sitting I was asked what plate I would choose from a packet of twelve plates; it was decided on the fourth from the top of the packet. The camera was not used; Mr. Hope and I entered the dark room and only myself touched the plates during development. On the fourth plate was a message from the late Archdeacon Colley. This negative I have by me and anyone wishing to see same can do so with pleasure.