Willard Asylum, upstate New York. Each patient comes with a suitcase, which is stored in the attic. Yet they stay here for an average of 30 years before they die, so most of their luggage remains untouched. Until 1995, when a psychiatrist discovered the luggage, revealing characters and stories that had been hidden for nearly a century.
Photographer JonCrispin recently took pictures of the suitcases and released them to the world, revealing the luggage of these 'marginalized people'. Most of the boxes reportedly date from 1910-1960. Their owners, most of them buried in unmarked graves across the street from the hospital, have not been identified.
Willard Asylum, built in 1800
The luggage belonged to FrankC., a U.S. Army veteran who had lived in Brooklyn, New York. In addition to the gun, he brought photos of his family.
FrankC. 's uniform is still in good condition, even though he was hospitalized in the 1950s.
EleanorG's suitcase contains expensive perfumes, delicate sewing kits and perms.
ClarissaB nearly 100 years later, the suitcase is worn, but it is still tightly locked.
On March 22, 1941, patient PeterL went to the mental hospital with his last newspaper.
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Patient's prosthesis
Charles brought his beloved instrument to hospital in 1930, but was warned it could not be used in the hospital and it was sealed.
FloraT., a woman, has perfume and delicate tissues, but at the same time, a suitcase of black injections is a dazzling sight.
A photo of FrankC's family and friends. Now it is not sure where Frank was buried, because most mental patients are buried in an unmarked cemetery opposite the hospital after they die.
This bottle of glycerine in MaudeK. 's bag was purchased at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair.