Cementerio de Cristóbal Colón, Havana, Cuba

I went to Cuba in 1976. It was something that only tourists from Canada and Iron Curtain countries were able to do at the time. We stayed at Veradero which was still largely undeveloped, with some of the villas abandoned and still empty since the exodus after the revolution. We visited the Cementerio de Cristóbal Colón in the Vedado neighborhood of Havana. It was SPECTACULAR and was the first richly ornate cemetery I had ever seen. Here are just a few examples from my slides of the trip.

The chapel as it looked in 1976, before the influx of tourists.

The chapel in 2006. (photo by Dirk van der Made)

I wish I could go back and rephotograph more of this amazing place. With the saturated blue skies and the lush tropical vegetation, it seemed so alive compared to the grey Paris cemeteries....

Insects and Determining Time of Death

I am back.....
My sincere apologies for the long absence. Now to get to the meat of things....

I just finished reading an interesting little book called Corpse: Nature, Forensics, and the Struggle to Pinpoint Time of Death by Jessica Snyder Sachs (Basic Books: New York, 2001). It outlines recent (now 10 year-old) developments in the determination of an accurate time of death compared to what was previously thought. It seems that progressively since the 19th century and earlier, medico-forensic determinations of time of death have been inversely accurate compared to the beliefs of the time. The more we learned about the processes going on within both newly dead and long-term decaying bodies, the less accurate our estimates became because we could no longer depend on the inaccurately definitive assumptions of previous generations. This was very problematic when it came to the identification of missing persons and corroborating or breaking suspects' alibis. Justice was not being served.

This book outlines the history of how forensic science evolved and eventually turned to entomology and botany to increase the tools available to homicide investigators. Although a bit "clinical", I still found it a fascinating read. As a history, it names most of the important scientists and researchers who have lead the way to establish what we now take for granted when we watch a CSI type television program. Among the names featured in the book is Bill Bass (see my entry for June 7, 2010, "The Body Farm") who was one of, if not the first to use actual human cadavers for field study research into insect invasion, long-term decay, and the application and study of environmental and situational controls.

For those interested in the criminalistic side of things, this is a must-read.

In a slightly different vein, I just learned that Dr. Stanley Burns has recently published the third volume of Sleeping Beauties. The first two volumes are long out-of-print and quite valuable. Although this one is of a smaller format, I am eagerly awaiting its arrival. I am sure it will be chock full of those wonderful 19th century post mortem portraits.


In a coming installment, I will post more from my own PM photo collection, so please stay tuned.

Facies Dolorosa

In 1934, the German diagnostician Prof. Dr. Hans Killian published an amazing book of 64 portraits of his dying patients. The first edition of Facies Dolorosa was printed using the collotype process and is extremely rare and expensive. Subsequent editions printed in half-tone are sometimes found, although still rare and valuable.

These portraits were seen as a scientific work of empirical observation; a theory Dr. Killian was propounding whereby the underlying diagnosis of a person's illness could be seen written in the tensions and expressions on their faces. In spite of being clinical in intent and approach, there is nevertheless an amazing terrible beauty in these faces. Shot close up and obliquely, the portraits resonate with an odd tension between the intimate and the dispassionate.

Here are few examples from this amazing book. Two patients are shown pre- and post-mortem.

Funny Tombstones

To end the first year of this blog, I am presenting a series of mainly "borrowed" images of silly tombstones that are supposed to actually exist. Of course, sometimes the humour is based on our language and how we interpret people's names. But many are created by families with a real sense of humour. I wonder if the deceased made it clear in their will that these are the memorials that they wanted over their grave in perpetuity?

Enjoy. Wishing you well for the New Year.....

I don't know him.....