Back in the day, photography was not as efficient as it is now. Once the shutter has been pressed, subjects had to be patient because of the long exposure time. That proved to be a bit of a problem with babies, so mothers had to be creative. Linda Fregni Nagler's book The Hidden Mothercontains photos of Victorian babies being held by loving mothers posing as chairs, covered in blankets and curtains and not quite out of view. It is a cute gesture, but combined with the weird looking kids and it becomes so damn creepy. We would have preferred them in the photos with the children, but we guess that was too easy.
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[via Guardian]
