Slater, Thomas (ca. 1872)

views updated

Slater, Thomas (ca. 1872)

British spirit photographer, the first after the initial success of Frederick A. Hudson in England. He was an established optician and amateur photographer in London. After a sitting with Hudson in 1872, he experimented at his own home and, the family being mediumistic, obtained striking success.

By the side of a portrait of his sister two heads appeared on the plate. One of them was unmistakably Lord Brougham, the other, much less distinct, was recognized by Slater as Robert Dale Owen. The curious thing about this picture is that in 1856, when Slater was holding a séance with Lord Brougham and Robert Dale Owen, it was predicted by raps that the time would come when he would be engaged in spirit photography. Owen immediately remarked that if dead at the time he would attempt to appear.

Alfred Russell Wallace believed that the Slater pictures were genuine.