He has good hair. A respectable suit. A slightly haunted expression.
Frankly, we could do worse.
This original cabinet card was photographed by C. F. Schroeder of Quincy Street in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and features an unidentified young man who has apparently spent the last century or so patiently waiting for us to make him interesting again.
I don't know his name. I don't know his story. And unlike some of the portraits I've used for psychic readings, I have not read this gentleman, so I'm not assigning him a tragic death, scandalous affair or secret second family simply because he looks like he might have had all three.
That's part of the fun.
Bring him home as an unusual piece of Victorian decor, add him to a gallery wall, tuck him among your antique books, use him in your Halloween decorating, or give him a place in your spiritual practice.
Old photographs can also make fascinating divination and intuitive-development tools. Sit with the portrait and see what you notice before researching the photographer or location. Use him for psychometry-style exercises, spirit communication practice, automatic writing, tarot prompts, or simply as an evocative focal point on an ancestor-style altar. He doesn't need to be your ancestor to make you curious about the people who came before us.
And if you merely want to tell everyone he's your dead Victorian boyfriend?
I certainly won't correct you.
Details
Original antique cabinet card photograph
Victorian-era male portrait
Photographer: C. F. Schroeder
Quincy Street, Green Bay, Wisconsin
Subject unidentified
Sepia-toned photographic portrait on decorative card mount
The back has age-related discoloration that may appear like a shadow in photographs; it is staining/toning on the card itself, not an actual shadow.
Sold as found
Antique wear, age toning and surface imperfections are part of its history
No psychic reading has been performed on this photograph
One of a kind
Haunted Relic Notes
Possible uses:
Divination • Intuitive exercises • Spirit communication practice • Automatic writing • Altar display • Curiosity cabinet • Halloween decor • Victorian gallery wall • Being needlessly mysterious
Haunted?
I haven't asked him.
Which may be the most responsible decision anyone has made regarding a Victorian photograph in quite some time.
