Urns: Their History and Collectibility
by Judy Weaver Gonyeau, managing editor Cremation as a form of burial goes back to the Neolithic or Stone Age, making it one of the oldest traditions in the history of Man. Its propriety is also one of the…
mourning
Victorian Mourning Warehouses: One-Stop Mourning
by Maxine Carter-Lome, publisher “MOURNING—Court, Family, and Complimentary—The Proprietors of the London General Mourning Warehouse, Nos. 247 and 249 Regent-street, beg respectfully to remind families whose bereavements compel them to adopt mourning attire, that every article (of the very…
Memorial Flowers: The Oldest Form of Tribute
by Judy Gonyeau, managing editor The arrangement and placement of flowers around the dead are considered the oldest act of mourning. During the 1951 excavation of the Shandiar Cave in Northern Iraq, Dr. Ralph Solecki discovered several burial sites.…
The National Museum of Funeral History: The Heritage of Death Care
While not a favorite topic for discussion, “death care is one of man’s oldest professions,” according to Robert L. Waltrip, an undertaker turned collector on the topic. In 1992, Waltrip founded the National Museum of Funeral History in Houston, Texas…
Posthumous Promotions – Funeral Home Promotional Items
by Jessica Kosinski When it comes to collecting death-related items, a large category on which you may choose to focus is funeral home advertising. In the early days, advertisements for funeral homes and other businesses mainly consisted of fliers…
The Evolution of Mourning Wear
by Maxine Carter-Lome Mourning attire has evolved throughout the centuries but one thing that has remained constant, at least in western civilizations, is the wearing of the color black. Originally reserved for royalty and aristocracy who were experiencing grief, black…
October 2022: Life in Mourning
Every culture – ever religion – every person mourns in their own way. The sentiment behind that expression, however, is universal; honoring a loved one in a way that publicly displays a depth of loss. In this issue, we look…
Mourning the Past
Every culture – every religion – every person – mourns in their own way. The sentiment behind that expression, however, is universal: honoring a loved one in a way that publicly displays a depth of loss. In this issue, we look…