Stiffs, Skulls and Skeletons: Medical Photography and Symbolism (1st Edition)

This is a compendium of rare and historic photos that dive into the allure and aesthetic of skeletons and dead bodies in the past. Edited and compiled by a medical doctor, this collection has been a project over 40 years in the making; Stanley B. Burns, MD studied these archival photos and has written on them to dive into a side of 19th century medical history illuminating that era’s fascination with skeletons and corpses. Readers will be enthralled by the photos, most of which aren’t available publicly and haven’t been previously published (especially in non-academic settings). Inside is the history of fascinations and practices, like skull collecting, that defined things like medicine, race relations, psychology, and the intersection between these and more that are in part and parcel of the history that influences these domains today.