{"product_id":"the-apparitionists-a-tale-of-phantoms-fraud-photography-and-the-man-who-captured-lincolns-ghost-9781328557063","title":"The Apparitionists: A Tale of Phantoms, Fraud, Photography, and the Man Who Captured Lincoln's Ghost","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn the early days of photography, in the death-strewn wake of the Civil War, one man seized America's imagination. A \"spirit photographer,\" William Mumler, took portrait photographs that featured the ghostly presence of lost loved ones alongside his living subjects. At a time when artists like Mathew Brady were remaking American culture with their cameras, Mumler was a sensation: the affluent and influential came calling, including Mary Todd Lincoln. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e It took a circuslike trial of Mumler on fraud charges, starring P. T. Barnum for the prosecution, to expose a fault line of doubt and manipulation. And even then, the judge's stunning verdict suggested no one would ever solve the mystery of how Mumler did it. This forgotten puzzle offers a vivid snapshot of America at a crossroads in its history, a nation in thrall to new technology while grasping desperately for something to believe in.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePETER MANSEAU is the author of the nonfiction books \u003ci\u003eVows\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eRag and Bone\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eOne Nation, Under Gods\u003c\/i\u003e; and the novel \u003ci\u003eSongs for the Butcher's Daughter\u003c\/i\u003e, a winner of the National Jewish Book Award. He is the first curator of religion at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. He lives in Annapolis, Maryland.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Mariner Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50527561351442,"sku":"9781328557063","price":13.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_b606bb09-4245-4043-936e-c024952859d9.jpg?v=1731305530","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-apparitionists-a-tale-of-phantoms-fraud-photography-and-the-man-who-captured-lincolns-ghost-9781328557063","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}