History - Coffins, Burial Cases, and Coffins
This was a movement away from what shape?
Anthropoidal
The first coffin shops and warehouses appeared in
1812
Appearance
(Victorian) movement from gloom to beauty
The Ogee design was introduced in
1859
The modern rectangular casket design was introduced in
1860
The term Grave Vault came into use in the late
1870's
The word casket didn't replace coffin until
1890
By 1915, ______% of funerals included a metal vault with the function to protect the contents from the earth.
5-10
Who created what would become the modern design in 1879?
George Boyd
Protection
Grave Robbers Shipping
1860's patents included
Iron Cement Marble Potter's Clay
Who had one of the 1st coffin warehouses in the US?
John L. Dillon
Reflect Status
More expensive material Adornments Better craftsmanship
Fisk Metallic Coffin
Return to anthropoidal shape intro of airtight casket claimed to be light and stop decomp adapted a manufacturing process helped make embalming popular
The brainchild of cloth covered burial cases was
Samuel Stein in 1871
What allowed for coffin usage amongst all classes?
Social mobility
The "Style E State Casket" was for who? what did it do?
Ulysses S. Grant, helped acceptance
As popularity of coffins increased, design ideas were introduced. This resulted in better:
Utility Reflection of Status Protection Appearance
The Coffin Torpedo was
a device designed as a booby trap for grave robbers
The Ogee design was
a square sided casket reduced excess space and weight was characterized by "S" shaped curvature
Metallic Burial Cases claimed to be
air tight good for shipping
Caskets were designed with life signals to
alert people someone was alive
Development of caskets placed an emphasis on
body presentation
Prosperity in the colonies created a desire for
coffins
Life signals were mainly a
concept design. (were patented but not really made or sold)
The emergence of ________________ who supplied good to undertakers to people dealing with the public
furnishing undertakers
Stein started as a small manufacturer but then
grew quite large
Rich people had caskets that were
hard polished or stained
Colonists did not ______ their caskets
import/stockpile. They were made on demand
The first use of the word casket was
in Boston in 1849
The "Burial Safe" was originally designed to
keep out grave robbers
There became a desire for coffins made of
metal and wood
Utility
more profitable more beneficial
Coffins were
octagonal shaped with flat sides
Life signals were created because
people were afraid of being buried alive
Poor people had caskets that were
pine and painted with lamp black and glue
Improvements over time created a product that would
protect the body from the elements
Burial Vaults were made of
rock, stone, brick, and concrete slabs
The exodus from England contained many
skilled craftsman
Who was buried in coffins by the middle of the 18th century?
some slaves
Urban population growth led to
specialty coffin making
Burial Safes were inspired by
the fisk metallic coffin
Early American caskets were made of
wood
Cloth burial cases were
wood constructed metal reinforces covered in cloth (different types depending on $)
Specific coffin makers were not
yet established
