This intriguing and comprehensive exploration of the skeleton and the dead body includes more than 400 rare photographs. Stanley B. Burns, MD, has studied, collected and written on medical photography for over four decades focusing on unexplored areas. His books have placed him in the forefront of medical photographic history scholarship. This work reveals the nineteenth-century fascination with the dead body and body parts. The classic visual iconography of postmortem, dissection, and bone photography is presented and expanded to include early autopsy images and X-ray studies. No prior visual work has presented the once very popular hobby of collecting skulls and also shown their use in racial and psychological profiling research. This sumptuously illustrated book with previously unpublished photographs is an extraordinary work of medical, historical and cultural research. It is a timeless visual essay that will surely become a standard resource for collectors, curators, artists, and scholars.

Stiffs, Skulls & Skeletons: Medical Photography and Symbolism

Arts & Photography

Stanley B. Burns

Elizabeth A. Burns

Photography & Video

Schiffer

This volume expands the history of early postmortem and memorial photography, and continues the exploration of the subject to the present day. Several new topics are surveyed, and four new major themes are addressed in detail: family bonds, grief and mourning; the significant differences between American and European postmortem photography; the artistry of posthumous mourning photographs; and a new grieving ritual using photographs. Photographs from over 15 countries are examined. Extensive captions accompany some 140 new images, and a detailed chronology and bibliography aid further research.

Sleeping Beauty II: Grief, Bereavement in Memorial Photography American and European Traditions

Politics & Social Sciences

Stanley B. Burns, MD

Social Sciences

Burns Archive Press

Japanese geisha and courtesans intrigue and fascinate Westerners. During the mid-nineteenth century, Japan opened its doors to the world and became an essential destination for travelers. Tourists desired images of landscapes and traditional Japanese culture, which Japanese photographers provided. They created souvenir albums consisting of hand-colored photographs individually chosen by the tourist. Many are so beautifully painted that they challenge modern sensibilities familiar with color photography. The photographic conventions were inspired by the aesthetics of the noted colored woodblock print medium of ukiyo-e and the privately published surimono. These works depicted the “floating world”—courtesans, geisha, and entertainments—which also were intriguing subject matter for tourists. In the seventeenth century, the social category of entertainer, or more exactly hostess and companion for men, was established—the geisha, Japanese for “artist.” Geisha are professional hostesses who train in the art of pleasing men, by performing traditional dance, playing instruments and singing, and intelligent conversation and humor. They were experts in tea ceremony and all aspects of dining. Their aim was to simulate the ambience and impression of Feudal Japan. It took years for an apprentice geisha (maiko) to learn the art, but the result was wealth, renown, and celebrity. This book, Geisha: A Photographic History, 1880–1910, documents the intimate life and culture of the nineteenth-century geisha. It portrays these artists in a cultural reality created by staged studio photography, private scenes, and rare outdoor images. The geisha is pictured performing her daily rituals and various arts—bathing, dressing, hair styling, dining, dancing, and playing instruments. Images of courtesans and other working women are presented alongside the geisha to show all sides of this enchanting aspect of Japanese culture. Completing the story are insightful essays on the history of nineteenth-century Japanese photography, the social history of the geisha, and the history of the opening of Japan.

Geisha: A Photographic History, 1872-1912

powerHouse Books

Mensur &amp; Schmiss: German Dueling Societies is the first photographic history of the student academic duel, the Mensur, practiced in Germany since the eighteenth century. The slashing swordplay of this fascinating Western European ritual often resulted in a Schmiss, or facial scarification. The Schmiss scar was a record of one's courage, cherished as a badge of honor that signified masculinity and high social position. This compilation of over 175 images documents all aspects of the tradition: combatants, seconds, referees, spectators and attending surgeons before, during, and after the Mensur, as well as the celebrations and social functions that were part of Germanic student life. The Mensur is still practiced today although hidden from public view. The astute observations of Mark Twain and Jerome K. Jerome, both travelers through Germany during the nineteenth century, are included.This book emphasizes the Corps and other elite fraternity groups that engaged in Mensur, vividly documenting the camaraderie, seriousness, reality and violence of the academic duels. 106 pages | Softcover | 7.5 x 8.5 inches | ISBN: 978-1-936002-09-2 | JULY 2017

Mensur & Schmiss: German Dueling Societies

J Lawrence Burns

Picturing Freedom chronicles and celebrates the photographic history of African Americans and their cars by focusing on personal images of the pride and joy of car ownership (1900-1980+).\nOwning a car was a significant life-changing achievement. It offered special freedoms—the freedom to travel, the freedom to work further from home, the freedom to visit family and friends, the freedom to avoid Jim Crow laws, and the freedom to migrate. The car was unequivocal evidence of Black success and an important symbol of status in a country that had long fought their advancement in every area. Car ownership was purposely and proudly photographed. All of the photographs were taken in Black communities by a family member or a friend and reveal how African Americans represented themselves.\nThis 2022 IPPY award-winning compilation of over 450 unique photographs is an inspiring visual narrative of American life. Included are histories of photography, car freedoms, and travel, as well as contributions from legendary photographer Chester Higgins, Jr. and public health advocate Gerald Deas, MD.\nThe Burns African American Historical Photography Collection and Burns Archive have been a source of exhibitions and documentaries on the African American experience for over 45 years. Picturing Freedom is the fiftieth book from Stanley B. Burns, MD, and the sixth from Elizabeth A. Burns.

Picturing Freedom: African Americans & Their Cars, A Photographic History