Several spirit photographs of children have been obtained. One of these is the interesting one of “Edina’s” little boy, a full account of which is in Mr. Robertson’s paper in this volume. Another child’s portrait was got unexpectedly at a test séance in April, 1892. The arrangements and operations were under my superintendence. I invited a lady (Mrs. J. N. Anderson) to take a place near the sitter in order to try whether her mediumistic power would aid the experiment. I was vexed at not getting the special result I wanted, but soon I had cause for gladness in the joy which the portrait obtained brought to the hearts of the child’s father and mother. To the notes of the séance, which were signed by all present, I added the following words as a postscript: “The child’s dress exhibits what was not known to any person outside of Mr. Anderson’s family.” That test is of a kind to impress a mother’s mind. Previous to the child’s departure he was lying cold in bed, when his mother took from a drawer a night-dress of one of her older boys, and put it on the ailing child. This night-dress had a certain kind of frill round the neck-band; and that night-dress, with its frill and long sleeves, is represented in the photograph. There was no picture in existence from which the photograph could have been copied; and the likeness is not only attested by the parents, but by friends of the family, and by Mr. James Robertson, president of the Glasgow Society, who had often seen the boy.
Some one may ask, how was the photograph of the child obtained, seeing he was too young to come unaided to stand before the camera, or to impress his image on the prepared plate without the camera? An interesting question, no doubt. To it I reply, “I do not know: I am stating facts, not trying to explain them.”
In the Review of Reviews for April, 1893, Mr. Stead suggested that additional experiments should be tried to obtain psychic pictures without the agency of light or the camera. An opportunity occurred in July to try the experiment with a lady who is not known to Spiritualistic or occult circles—albeit she is a good medium and clairvoyant. A dry plate from my packet of unused plates was placed in a mahogany slide. The lady then held the slide between the palms of her hands. She was under continuous and close observation in a well-lighted room, and one end of the slide was held by myself. On putting the plate in the developer, the picture of a child appeared on it. The plate was not tampered with by any one, nor was there any opportunity given to do so, nor was it exposed to light until after it was developed and fixed. A reproduction of the picture is given herewith ([see page 145]).
Psychic Picture obtained without a Camera.
Mr. Stainton Moses, at a meeting of the London Spiritualist Alliance, advised those who intended to experiment in photography to employ a stereoscopic camera. He considered that the genuineness of spirit photographs so obtained could not be called in question. This opinion has also been held by other investigators. In June, 1892, some spirit photographs were submitted to an eminent scientific gentleman, together with copies of the notes, detailing fully the conditions under which the pictures were obtained, and giving the names and addresses of all those who were present at the experiments. The opinion of the gentleman was expressed in writing as follows, viz.:—“You have adopted all the precautions I can think of as being necessary. The only one thing else I can think of is the employment of a binocular camera. That is the final Court of Appeal, and a spirit photograph taken by it can leave no room for cavil.” To those who endorse this opinion I may state I have eight photographs taken with binocular cameras, all obtained under test conditions, and all having abnormal figures which are perfectly stereoscopic per se, as well as in relation to the sitters. Halves of two of these photographs accompany these miscellanea.[15] They were obtained on the 21st October, 1893, on dry plates purchased from Mr. Doublet, and the whole of the manipulations, so far as not done by myself, were under my close and continuous observation.