Testifying at Mumler’s “spirit photography” hearing on Apr. 21, 1869, John Edmonds stated that he became acquainted with Mumler “some two or three weeks ago” when “I had gone to his gallery with Dr. John F. Geary and a Mr. Hunt, at the invitation of the former, to have my photograph taken.”^

A. V. Hickey, who worked for the New York newspaper The World, began investigating Mumler about Mar. 2, 1869. Joseph H. Tooker, an agent of the New York City License Bureau and Chief Marshal under New York City Mayor A. Oakley Hall, had a portrait done under an assumed identity at Mumler’s studio on Mar. 16, 1869. In the following days Tooker made inquiries with leading photographic specialists about whether the photograph produced was a fraud.

Mumler was arrested on Apr. 12, 1869 and imprisoned on Apr. 13, 1869 when he could not pay the $500 bail.^ Early in March, 1869, Mumler was aware of press hostility to his spirit photography. By early April, 1869, he probably recognized that would face charges. He likely sought to photograph Edmonds to involve him in the impending case.