Top hat styles and dates

[Treetotal]

I doubt that it is a PM photo as his arms are not supported and the pose would be difficult to achieve. I think he may be looking down at the book giving the appearance that his eyes are closed. There does appear to be a posing stand with a round base as I believe he is sitting on a stool.
Carol

[cristeen]

Only middle & upper classes wore toppers.

At the risk of seeming petty I have found many references to those other than middle and upper classes wearing top hats. For example
"The histories of several types of hats introduced in England in the early and mid-nineteenth century and widely adopted in other countries illustrate this principle. The top hat, which appeared in England at the beginning of the nineteenth century, was worn first by the middle and upper classes. During the century, it spread downward, possibly because it was adopted by coachmen in the 1820s and for policemen's uniforms in the same period (de Marly 1986: 123, 98). In 1839, workers in London were wearing them with their Sunday clothes, and a potter from Staffordshire, the subject of a drawing in the same year, was wearing one with a smock frock (86). In the 1840s and 1850s, unskilled laborers and fishermen were photographed wearing these hats (Ginsburg 1988: 148, 152). At mid-century, they were being worn by all social classes (Ewing 1984: 112). Head coverings worn by a group of foremen, who represented the upper stratum of the working class, illustrate the use of hats to express their aspirations for social status (Ginsburg 1988: 124). In an 1861 photograph, most of the men were wearing the newly fashionable lounge jacket, and seven out of ten were wearing top hats. The older men were wearing top hats, in a slightly outdated style, but the younger ones were wearing the latest model. Only one man in the photograph was wearing a peaked cap. By the end of the century, the use of the top hat had reverted to the middle and upper classes."
Taken from here  http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/117987.html

[McGroger]

For those people not familiar with the practice, various devices were used to help living people stay still for the photographer. These would have been sometimes adapted/used for photos of recently deceased people but this was nowhere near as common as some websites would have you believe.

I don’t think this photo is a post mortem one because his coat sleeve is hanging down - that is, he is holding up his own arm - and his overall position looks too natural.

I do think though that at this point he may have not been a well man (that is, he may have been largely bedridden) and a device was assisting him - something like the one in the first image below (the base of which rather resembles his extra  “chair leg”, except for the different approach taken to providing a heavy base - third image).

All things considered I think the picture was probably taken in his last year of life.

Peter

[jim1]

He's about as dead as I am. Not sure how this conclusion was reached but this is a quite common pose for middle class men.
Even by 1870's standards it would be pretty undignified hauling him out of his death bed & taking him to a photographer before rigor-mortis sets in.
Most pm's are of children usually posed asleep, occasionally with babies in mother's arms.
The practice of doing this was mainly because there was no other photo of the deceased.
With an older person like this chap there were probably other photos of him that could be turned into a memorial photo which was much more common.

[Treetotal]

Well said Jim    ...now will you ask Granddad to get into the festive spirit and put his Santa hat
 
on...pleeease 

Carol

[jim1]

Grandad went into the shed in July & nobody's seen him since.

[Treetotal]

Well that's Brexit for ya...it's got a lot to answer for
Carol