Hidden Mothers

(Rare) Hidden Mother - Baby with Down's Syndrome 1870-1879, Tintype, 3 x 2 inches.

(Rare) Hidden Mother 1870-1879, Tintype, 3 x 2 inches.

(Rare) Hidden Mother Postmortem Infant - 1870 - 1879, Tintype, 3 x 2 inches.

(Rare) Hidden Mother Postmortem Infant & Sister- 1870 - 1879, Tintype, 3 x 2 inches.

(Rare) Hidden Mother  - 1840, Tintype, 3 x 2 inches.

(Rare) Hidden Mother - 1870 - 1879, Tintype, 3 x 2 inches.

In early photographs, a subject had to sit still because of long camera exposure times. When that subject was a squirming baby or small child, they were sometimes held in a lap or reassured by an adult hand, either from a photographer's assistant, relative, nanny, or father, but primarily by the child's mother. Whether they're mothers or not, collectors call these photos "hidden mother photographs."

Since customers wanted photographs that showed only the children, photographers had to get creative to block out the other person.

A mother would drape herself in fabric or attempt to hide herself out of the camera's view. That way, after the photo was developed, it would be placed behind a mat or frame which would crop out the mother, thereby deceiving the viewer into thinking the child was posing alone.