The Angel's Whisper thumbnail 1
Request to view

This object can be requested via email from the Prints & Drawings Study Room

Image of Gallery in South Kensington

The Angel's Whisper

Photograph
c. 1860 (made)
Artist/Maker
Gebhardt, Rottmann, & Co (publishers)
Place of origin
Britain (made)

Stereograph entitled 'The Angel's Whisper' published by Gebhardt, Rottman and Co. (London), possibly photographed by John Reynolds. Great Britain, c.1860

Delve deeper

Discover more about this object
watch A brief history of ghosts and spirit photography Can objects in our collection shine a light on the existence of ghosts, or at least what the Victorians believed about them?

Object details

Category
Photographs
Object type
Photograph
TitleThe Angel's Whisper (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Stereoscopic photograph
Card
Photography
Brief description
Stereograph entitled 'The Angel's Whisper' published by Gebhardt, Rottman and Co. (London), possibly photographed by John Reynolds. Great Britain, c.1860
Dimensions
  • Size of card height: 8.5cm
  • Width: 17.6cm
Gallery label
Making It Up: Photographic Fictions (2018)

A verse on the back of this stereo card tells the story of a fisherman’s wife worried for his safety during a storm. She is reassured when her baby smiles in its sleep, a sign that ‘angels are whispering’ to her husband. The scene is realized through both staging and the special effects of retouching and multiple exposure.

Marta Weiss
Label for 'Making It Up: Photographic Fictions' (3 May 2013 - 12 January 2014):

Probably John Reynolds
The Angel's Whisper
James Elliott (1835–1903)
Mary Queen of Scots. A Prisoner
Unknown photographers
The Captive
Woman selling apples from a basket
Probably Martin Laroche (1810–86)
Astounding Apparition!
Unknown photographer
Frogs playing pool and smoking clay pipes
About 1860
A stereograph is a pair of photographic images of the same subject taken from slightly different angles. This gives the illusion of a three-dimensional image when viewed through a stereoscope. These optical devices occupied a place in the drawing room, as a television might today, providing entertainment that was both amusing and instructive. Stereographs were the most popular outlet for staged and narrative photography in the 19th century.

Stereographs
Museum nos. 107, 113, 124, 127, 147-1957, 679-1943
Subjects depicted
Stereoscopes
Stereograph
Collection
Prints, Drawings & Paintings Collection
Accession number
127-1957

About this object record

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.

Suggest feedback

Record createdJune 30, 2009
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1044772/the-angels-whisper-photograph-gebhardt-rottmann/
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest