{"product_id":"the-apparitionists-a-tale-of-phantoms-fraud-photography-and-the-man-who-captured-lincolns-ghost","title":"The Apparitionists: A Tale of Phantoms, Fraud, Photography, and the Man Who Captured Lincoln's Ghost","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eA story of faith and fraud in post-Civil War America, told through the lens of a photographer who claimed he could capture images of the dead\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn the early days of photography, in the death-strewn wake of the Civil War, one man seized America's imagination. A \"spirit photographer,\" William Mumler took portrait photographs that featured the ghostly presence of a lost loved one alongside the living subject. Mumler was a sensation: The affluent and influential came calling, including Mary Todd Lincoln, who arrived at his studio in disguise amidst rumors of séances in the White House.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePeter Manseau brilliantly captures a nation wracked with grief and hungry for proof of the existence of ghosts and for contact with their dead husbands and sons. It took a circus-like trial of Mumler on fraud charges, starring P. T. Barnum for the prosecution, to expose a fault line of doubt and manipulation. And even then, the judge sided with the defense--nobody ever solved the mystery of his spirit photography. This forgotten puzzle offers a vivid snapshot of America at a crossroads in its history, a nation in thrall to new technology while clinging desperately to belief.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHardcover. \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e352 pages\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e*This is a used book in good condition. It's a deaccessioned library book, with plastic covering and a library barcode on the cover.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Peter Manseau","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48032465518747,"sku":null,"price":14.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1913\/2769\/files\/ibg.common.titledetail_3_daaa234c-77cf-445a-a582-cec6d66bbefd.gif?v=1771513449","url":"https:\/\/thefuturempls.com\/products\/the-apparitionists-a-tale-of-phantoms-fraud-photography-and-the-man-who-captured-lincolns-ghost","provider":"The Future Mpls","version":"1.0","type":"link"}