A photograph of a man, taken by William Hope in about 1920. The woman is identified as the sitter's deceased first wife. Hope may have already held her photograph in his studio, or he may have asked the man to supply her photograph under the pretence of using the image to contact the spirit world. The signature in the upper left hand corner is the sitter's, authenticating the plate.

A photograph of a man, taken by William Hope in about 1920.

The woman is identified as the sitter's deceased first wife. Hope may have already held her photograph in his studio, or he may have asked the man to supply her photograph under the pretence of using the image to contact the spirit world.

The signature in the upper left hand corner is the sitter's, authenticating the plate. William Hope's spirit album photographs use double and triple exposure techniques to render the appearance of ghostly apparitions around the sitter.

Hope's work gained momentum in the aftermath of World War One, a time when many bereaved people were desperate to find evidence of loved ones living beyond the grave. Although his deception was publicly exposed by a private investigator, Harry Price (1881-1948), in 1922, Hope continued to practice.