Chewing the Rag: Antique Mounted "Ectoplasm" Spirit Photo with Two Women. late 19th/early 20th c.

A very curious one, which I think one could write a whole book about! I am no expert on "spirit " photograph, but this seems to be an example--though perhaps a very self aware or even tongue in cheek one--specifically portraying (via a length of what I presume is cheesecloth stretching between the mouths of these two women) an "ectoplasmic" event. And then above the mounted photo, written in ink: "chewing the rag," an expression, English in origin and akin to "chewing the fat," meaning idly chatting or gossiping for some extended period of time. (It is interesting--given the apparent use of cheesecloth here ---that the origins of the phrase, which came into popular use in the 1870s, are presumed to relate specifically to women and to cloth, likely referring to women talking while working in sewing circles or while quilting.)

I have done a bit of reading on the subject of "ectoplasmic" spirit photography --ectoplasm being a substance or spiritual energy "exteriorized" by physical mediums.  The term was coined in 1894 and became quite the thing, with many mediums using methods of swallowing and regurgitating cheesecloth, textile products smoothed with potato starch, and all sorts of other things to portray its presence; this photograph is very understated in comparison to many much more dramatic portrayals of the phenomenon captured in images!

Lots of questions about this as-found mounted photograph, which seems both to embody and to critique the phenomenon. Was the image produced as sort of knowing re-creation of the phenomenon, or was the caption added later, as a satirical comment on its constructed-ness? Or is the caption original to what was meant to be  a "sincere" spirit photograph, and simply refers to the communication occurring between the living and spirit worlds?--I presume the woman at left meant to be a spirit and the woman at right to be of the living. I don't know the answers, but I really love thinking about it, and what a marvelous photograph whatever the case!

C. early 20th c. photo , mounted to card. Card: 4 15/16" x 4 15/16". Photo: 3 7/16" x 3 3/8". All in good condition.