Portfolio > Museum of Mesmerism

This image is one of the few remaining examples of the very unusual metal “Spirit Imprints” created by a “Spirit Photographer” in the former Czechoslovakia. These unique metallic photographic images were made using electrically charged plates in special cameras. They were very difficult to produce, as the sitter for the portrait had to have a very strong “presence” about him in order to register his imprint on the plate.

All the most rich and powerful men in the Prague wanted these imprints of themselves to prove the especially forceful quality of their nature. The photographer who made these imprints worked in a newspaper printing office, but created his very specialized images in his spare time.