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The headless man and other 19th-century trick photographs

The headless man and other 19th-century trick photographs

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A collection of trick and unusual photographs from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

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Headless Man Trick Photograph
Headless Man Trick Photograph

Before Photoshop, there were costumes and trick photography, and early artists made the most of both. io9 has put together a collection of trick or unusual photographs from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including the headless man above, a bald ghost, and a 3D rendering of the spirit of Christmas. The images come from Flickr sets, including the George Eastman House Collection, and most of them are a lot more intentionally funny than double-exposed "spirit photographs" made with some of the same techniques.