Conjuring the spirit world: art, magic, and mediums

Abstract

"This is the first illustrated volume to gather the art and objects that made medium and magician performances iconic during the Spiritualism movement and beyond, a time when people actively debated and wondered, "can spirits return?" An international selection of paintings, photographs, posters, stage apparatuses, film, publications, and other objects reveal how audiences were entranced and mystified by these experiential performances, captivating willing believers and garnering skeptics as they navigated the intersecting realms of science and spirituality. From the origins of the iconic Oujia board to spirit photography, this book is a treasure trove"--Peabody Essex Museum website.

Contents

Acknowledgments / George H. Schwartz -- Foreword / Lynda Roscoe Hartigan -- Introduction / George H. Schwartz -- Mediums, magicians, makers, and the objects used to conjure spirits / George H. Schwartz -- I see thee still : mourning objects in an age before spiritualism / Lan Morgan -- Spectacles of science and spirit : optical illusions and entertainment in the nineteenth century / Jennifer Lemmer Posey -- Boxing up the medium : the story of the spirit cabinet / Mark Schwartz -- Phantom evidence : spirit photography from the nineteenth century to the present / Christopher Jones -- Imagining Ethel Le Rossignol / Tony Oursler -- Belief in the brain and body / Tedi E. Asher -- Coda / George H. Schwartz.