From hypnotism to séance experiments
Schrenck-Notzing lived from 1862 to 1929 and practised in Munich. He took part in the development of hypnotism as a subject of medical research and became increasingly interested in the physical effects attributed to mediums. His experiments brought cameras and attempted controls into settings associated with Spiritualism.
Among his subjects was the medium known as Eva C. He interpreted the forms that appeared around her as materialisations and defended his conclusions against critics who questioned the controls and identified opportunities for deception. The controversy extended through medical and scientific publications, exposing disagreements about both the evidence and the legitimacy of the inquiry.
Photographs and the explanations around them
Phenomena of Materialisation gathers descriptions of sittings with a large body of illustrations. Curtains, lighting and the position of a medium’s hands recur because each could affect what observers saw and what a photograph recorded. The pictures preserve appearances while leaving their production contested. E. E. Fournier d’Albe translated the expanded English text, which includes supplementary material. Lumitheca holds a 1923 reissue announcing 225 illustrations, a record of the investigation and the assumptions through which its author interpreted it.
