"As she continued to walk down the crowded sidewalk, an odor of rotting human flesh grew stronger as the minutes passed. She thought that she had experienced all that death had to offer until Suzette found herself face-to-face with bodies in the picture window of the local morgue. Horrified, she gazed upon corpses displayed to the public for the purpose of identification. The smell of death made her gag, and she quickly brought her hankie to her nose and ran down the sidewalk to escape the stench."
Yes, there were picture window morgues in Paris in the 19th century. They were used for identification of bodies and became somewhat of a routine matter for citizens to wander by their local morgue to see who was on display. Of course, along with the viewing came the odor of rotting flesh. Rich and poor alike participated in the practice, some with great enthusiasm.
Below is a picture sketch from the era of the somewhat morbid Parisian practice.
