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37 Haunting Portraits Of Patients In Victorian Lunatic Asylums

The mental asylums of 19th century England housed the criminal, the insane, and the unwanted. These are their portraits.

The Victorian Era ushered in several significant changes with regard to medicine and the treatment of the ill. Shifting political mores brought forth increased investment in public health institutions — one of which included the lunatic asylum, a product of the nascent medical practice of psychiatry.

Though intended as a refuge for the sick, the asylum operated more as a correctional institution than a treatment facility. This perhaps stemmed from the fact that not just the ill resided in the site: as prisons became overcrowded, criminals often carried out their sentence in the asylum, while others used the institution as a dumping ground for unwanted dependents.

Given the need to generate funds in order to maintain the burgeoning medical institution, the asylum used its residents — sick, criminal, poor — as revenue sources. This culminated in the general public paying to visit the asylum, creating a circus-like environment for those in treatment.

Below, we look at the striking portraits of those whose lives were confined to the brutish mental institutions of Victorian England:

Arms Crossed Harriet Jordan, admitted in 1858 and diagnosed with acute mania.Museum Of The Mind Beard Captain George Johnston, admitted in 1846 with mania and charged with homicide.Museum Of The Mind Mental Patients Asylum patient, name unknown.The National Media Museum Doll Esther Hannah Still, admitted in 1858 and diagnosed with chronic mania with delusions.Museum Of The Mind Father Son John Bailey and his son Thomas Bailey, both admitted in 1858 with acute melancholia. Mentally Disabled Asylum patient, name unknown.The National Media Museum Bedlam Eliza Camplin, admitted in 1857 and diagnosed with acute mania.Museum Of The Mind Mental Asylum Portraits William Thomas Green, admitted in 1857 and diagnosed with acute mania.Museum Of The Mind Strapped In A criminal inmate at West Riding Asylum is restrained while photographed.Europeana Collections Hair Unidentified female patient diagnosed with acute mania.Museum Of The Mind 19th Century Mental Asylums Unidentified female patient admitted with chronic mania.The National Media Museum Reading Eliza Camplin, admitted in 1857 and diagnosed with acute mania.Museum Of The Mind Despondent Asylum patient, name unknown.The National Media Museum Blanket Asylum patient, name unknown.Museum Of The Mind Chronic Mania Unidentified woman admitted to West Riding Asylum with chronic mania.Europeana Collections Crying Eliza Josolyne, admitted 1856 and diagnosed with acute melancholia.Museum Of The Mind Acute Mania Patient Eliza Josolyne, photographed again in 1857 in convalescence.Museum Of The Mind Mono Mania Of Pride A patient at West Riding Asylum diagnosed with "mono-mania of pride," a condition where an otherwise sane patient suffered from partial insanity due to a singular pathological occupation.Europeana Collections Looking Away From The Camera Asylum patient, name unknown.The National Media Museum Eyes Unidentified female patient admitted to West Riding Asylum with general paralysis.Europeana Collection Sitting For A Portrait Asylum patient, name unknown.The National Media Museum Held Up A criminal prisoner housed at West Riding Asylum is held up by a guard.Europeana Collections Madness Unidentified female patient admitted to West Riding Asylum in 1858 with acute mania.Europeana Collection Picture Of Mental Asylum Patient Asylum patient, name unknown.The National Media Museum Mania Asylum patient, name unknown.Museum Of The Mind Restrained Asylum patient, name unknown.Europeana Collections Sad Asylum patient, name unknown.Museum Of The Mind Victorian Mental Asylum Patients Asylum patient, name unknown.The National Media Museum Schizophrenia Museum Of The Mind Sewing Fanny Barrett, admitted in 1858 and diagnosed with intermittent mania.Museum Of The Mind Stare Asylum patient, name unknown.The National Media Museum Smile Eliza Griffin, admitted in 1855 and diagnosed with acute mania.Museum Of The Mind Staring Asylum patient, name unknown.The National Media Museum Strapped Down Asylum patient, name unknown.The National Media Museum The Look Asylum patient, name unknown.Europeana Collection Vintage Photos Of Mental Asylum Patients Asylum patient, name unknown.The National Media Museum

Next, see our other posts on creepy vintage Halloween costumes and the real story behind Bedlam, the world's most infamous insane asylum.

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