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Mystery Lab / Photographs & images

Two separate records, one finished image

Record a circle, then add the image of a separately made diamond. Change only the second contribution and compare the combined result.

Photographs & images · two guided observations

Why explore geometric records through Mary Lincoln’s photograph?

William Mumler’s portrait of Mary Todd Lincoln shows a faint figure resembling her husband, who had already died. Harvard Art Museums dates it to the 1870s, and Getty discusses double exposure when explaining Mumler’s work. Two images appearing together and two subjects being physically present together are different claims.

Here, an original circle and diamond take the place of historical people. First add two separate records to one frame, then make only the diamond’s contribution fainter or clearer. Explore that difference without treating this as an experiment that recreates Mary’s photograph.

1. Compare the circle-only frame with the frame containing the added diamond record. 2. Make only the second record clearer and identify which shape changes. The control settings are not measured exposure values.

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Continue with the story and its records

Explore how the difference you noticed connects with the surviving records of the historical story.

Read about Mary Lincoln’s photograph
Open the source

Sources and scope

Harvard supplies the object’s sitter, maker and dating. We also consulted NPS’s biography and accounts of photographic history from Getty, the Met and SFMOMA. Object metadata, general techniques and mourning contexts each support different kinds of statements.

  1. 01
  2. 02
    The Man Who Photographed Ghosts J. Paul Getty Museum · 2024 · Checked 2026-10-22
  3. 03
    First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln U.S. National Park Service · Ford’s Theatre National Historic Site · Checked 2026-10-22
  4. 04
    Seeing Ghosts: A Brief Look at the Curious Business of Spirit Photography San Francisco Museum of Modern Art · 2021 · Checked 2026-10-22
  5. 05
    The Perfect Medium: Photography and the Occult The Metropolitan Museum of Art · 2005 exhibition account · Checked 2026-10-22

The wording and diagrams are original explanations based on these records. Historical photographs are linked through institutional pages, not embedded. The shapes, recording layers and strength settings are original examples, not a reconstruction of the portrait’s exact production sequence or the response of historical photographic materials.