Thank you all for the answers posted so far.
@Coloma Thanks for introducing me to the term of “memento mori”. It made for an interesting read that answered the question.
@marinelife As soon as I read your first response, I flagged my question and asked that it be moved to ‘Social’. Thank you for sharing. When Dad died, I started personally celebrating him by asking a friend or two out for a drink on his birthday instead of the anniversary of his death. They didn’t know the reason behind it. We just enjoyed each other’s company while I sipped on Dad’s favorite cocktail and gave him a private toast.
@snowberry That makes sense. A trendy twist on ‘memento mori’
@Earthbound_Misfit Thank you for the links. The family Bible was purchased in the late 1800’s that was published the year my grandmother was born. Her father was a doctor, so maybe he was privy to the means and modes of capturing these images.
@ucme That was my first thought. When I mentioned the Bible to a cousin, she immediately asked if it was the one with the creepy photos of dead people at the back of it.
@ibstubro I’ve heard of this practice before. While just as morbid, it seems more sentimental.