Who is this lady?

[Eva Elisabeth]

I wonder whether Mr Mumler did much business? And did anybody have the courage to suggest to Mary that the "hands" on her shoulders ... how should I say this ... well, I think Mr. Mumler could have tried a bit harder to make them appear normal.

Now that I think about this, I'd suggest that Mary knew that this was not an apparition. I know she was obviously traumatised (who wouldnt be) and possibly suffering from a mental illness. But she was also an intelligent woman that would not (IMO) have been fooled by a dopey 'photo' of a dead Lincoln. She would though perhaps have been comforted to have a pretend-image of him standing behind her and seemingly protecting her.

I think what to us, in our rational, technical world is most reasonable (or not) wasn't necessarily in the 19th century. Mary had already looked into the irrational before her husband died.

http://www.mrlincolnswhitehouse.org/resi...harlatans/