Blind or Deceased? Opinions Sought Please

[Treetotal]

I would value opinions on whether the little girl on the right is deceased or blind...Her eyes look rather odd and her stance unnatural don't you think?
Thanks for looking.
Carol

[Ruskie]

I agree that she does look odd Carol.

It is also odd that the taller girl has her hand behind the smaller one's head. Her arm is not across her shoulders and I can't see her hand - it looks a bit unnatural.

I note though that the tall girl is holding the hand of the small girl and her thumb appears to be wrapped around the tall girl's hand. I would have thought if she was deceased that the thumb would not be wrapped around in this way, but I may be wrong, and she may have been posed like this.

Can you see any sign of a stand behind the small girl which might be supporting her? Is the tall girl holding onto the support? 

[jcjc123]

it looks to me that hand holding is moving, there seems to be a little blurring that suggests movement, so i wonder if the girl on the right has just blinked.
it was one pic and it had to be right in those days, we've all got pics of our kids pulling hideous faces, this might just be another

i agree the stance is odd, and the leg reminded me of calipers you used to see on kids with walking issues, i wonder if she was disabled in some way.
I'm wondering why you would consider she was dead. Under what circumstances would a child be asked to prop up and be photographed with another dead child?

Have you been able to see birth certificates? and depending where she lived census etc, they often record any disability. Just last week i found a census that records an ancestor as deaf.

[groom]

I would have thought if she was deceased that the thumb would not be wrapped around in this way, but I may be wrong, and she may have been posed like this.

That was the bit I noticed as well.

I wonder how those children who were made to pose with their dead siblings felt, or perhaps they had a different view of death to that of today.

[groom]

Under what circumstances would a child be asked to prop up and be photographed with another dead child?

I wondered why as well, but on looking at post mortem photos I see that it wasn't uncommon.

[jcjc123]

I would have thought if she was deceased that the thumb would not be wrapped around in this way, but I may be wrong, and she may have been posed like this.

That was the bit I noticed as well.

I wonder how those children who were made to pose with their dead siblings felt, or perhaps they had a different view of death to that of today.

sorry to barge into this thread but i've never ever heard of siblings being asked to pose with a dead child, is this an actually known thing? common ish? why!?
if anyone has links etc that explains, i'm (obviously!) pretty gobsmaked

[groom]

Just google Victorian Post Mortem Photos and look at images, there are a lot on line. A very odd custom. 

[jcjc123]

Under what circumstances would a child be asked to prop up and be photographed with another dead child?

I wondered why as well, but on looking at post mortem photos I see that it wasn't uncommon.

Myth no 2 on this link might help answer http://dealer042.wix.com/post-mortem-photos#!myth/cee5
apparently it's not possible to stand up even a child...
This is really an education, i had utterly no idea!

[Treetotal]

Thanks everyone for your thoughts and your interest...I wasn't sure if this was a PM photo or whether the child had a sight problem...on close inspection...the eyes look really odd but I take Ruskie's point about the hand....I can't see a posing stand either.

Opinions differ on the subject:

Please note that this link takes you to a website on Victorian Post Mortem

http://www.viralnova.com/post-mortem-victorian-photographs/

Carol