Post-mortem photographs

I suppose many individuals wish to cling to the departed. We save a single memento that the departed cherished...a tool, a woven tablecloth, a book, a toy...and even a photograph. Post-mortem photographs were once quite popular and frankly somewhat morbid. It is rarely done now.

See Dan Meinwald's MEMENTO MORI: DEATH AND PHOTOGRAPHY IN NINETEENTH CENTURY AMERICA

Post-mortem photography [Wikipedia]