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08 Oct 10 - 07:48 AM (#3002377) Subject: BS: Gravestone reading From: Michael in Swansea Not been mudcatting for a while, but now I find I need your help. Is there a name for a person who walks around cemetaries reading gravestones. I've searched the 'net but to avail. Over to you. Mike |
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08 Oct 10 - 08:05 AM (#3002385) Subject: RE: BS: Gravestone reading From: curmudgeon On who studies gravestones is a thanatolithologist; learned from Linn (Bat Goddess) who is one - Tom |
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08 Oct 10 - 08:28 AM (#3002394) Subject: RE: BS: Gravestone reading From: Bat Goddess That's the term I use on my business card. I picked it up sometime in the '80s; not sure where. I also use it to tell who has had a classical education. I've heard other terms used, though, but it's too early in the morning to go through my mental database. Actually, the first time I posted at Mudcat (in 1998, I think) I used the title. Linn |
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08 Oct 10 - 08:43 AM (#3002404) Subject: RE: BS: Gravestone reading From: GUEST,Silas Oh Wow! I am now going to have to start reading some gravestones - I have just got to call myself a thanatolithologist - mindblowing! |
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08 Oct 10 - 08:47 AM (#3002406) Subject: RE: BS: Gravestone reading From: Georgiansilver Yes but he always forgets his raincoats when he does... He is called Max Bygraves! |
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08 Oct 10 - 09:03 AM (#3002412) Subject: RE: BS: Gravestone reading From: theleveller His name's Thomas Gray and wrote a pretty damn good elegy about it. |
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08 Oct 10 - 09:11 AM (#3002417) Subject: RE: BS: Gravestone reading From: Jim Dixon Funny thing—I went to Google to search for "thanatolithologist" and the only place it finds that word is at Mudcat. It has been mentioned here at least 23 times, mostly by Bat Goddess herself. Is it possible Bat Goddess coined that word herself, and is the world's only thanatolithologist?—the only one who goes by that name, I mean. Maybe there is a better word out there somewhere. Or maybe it's spelled differently. |
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08 Oct 10 - 09:18 AM (#3002423) Subject: RE: BS: Gravestone reading From: GUEST,Silas Nope, she's not the only one - I just joined! (Can't be a better word for it) |
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08 Oct 10 - 09:23 AM (#3002425) Subject: RE: BS: Gravestone reading From: Jim Dixon From Wikipedia: Tombstone tourist (otherwise known as a "taphophile", "cemetery enthusiast" or "grave hunter" or "graver") describes an individual who travels to visit cemeteries for the enjoyment of looking at old and unusual stones or to find the graves of famous people. The term has been most notably used by author and biographer Scott Stanton as the title of his 2003 book and his former website [1] on the lives and gravesites of famous musicians. Tombstone tourists are usually more interested in the historical aspects of cemeteries or the historical relevance of its denizens. Taphophilia is a passion for and enjoyment of cemeteries.[1] The singular term is a taphophile. Taphophilia involves epitaphs, gravestone rubbing, photography, art, and history of (famous) deaths. An example of an individual's expression of taphophilia is the character Harold in the movie Harold and Maude (1971). Taphophilia should not be confused with necrophilia, which is a sexual attraction to corpses. |
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08 Oct 10 - 09:50 AM (#3002449) Subject: RE: BS: Gravestone reading From: Jeri The Association for Gravestone Studies. It looks like it's USA-based. Bat Goddess knows a great deal about gravestones: materials, symbology, and has been known to recognize specific carvers' work. |
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08 Oct 10 - 09:53 AM (#3002453) Subject: RE: BS: Gravestone reading From: Jeri My bad: "Welcome to the Association for Gravestone Studies. We are an organization of approximately 1000 members, with about half in the Northeast. The rest are distributed around the country and in some foreign countries, including Canada, Japan, Germany, England, and Australia. Our office is located in Greenfield, Massachusetts." |
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08 Oct 10 - 10:06 AM (#3002460) Subject: RE: BS: Gravestone reading From: Jim Dixon Using Google Books, I have found several examples of epitaphology. The oldest example: But I wish to refer particularly to one feature of Epitaphology—pray let the term pass, notwithstanding its rudeness—which is of the greatest historical, moral, and philosophical importance. Only let us collate a few monumental inscriptions, and we shall arrive at a surprising fact of which few traces are to be found elsewhere. I allude to the extraordinary virtue—indeed, I might almost say, to the impeccability—of the human race; or, at least, of those individuals who have been rich enough to purchase tombs, or fortunate enough to possess friends willing to compose their Epitaphs. --from an article "Epitaphs" by Basil Lincoln, in The City of London Magazine, Vol. 1, No. 3, December, 1842. |
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08 Oct 10 - 10:28 AM (#3002478) Subject: RE: BS: Gravestone reading From: Jeri From Wikipedia: "Thanatology is the academic, and often scientific, study of death among human beings."and "Lithology once was approximately synonymous with petrography, but in current usage, lithology is a subdivision of petrology focusing on macroscopic hand-sample or outcrop-scale description of rocks, while petrography is the speciality that deals with microscopic details." I believe the "lithologist" is the study of rocks. Makes sense to me, but working in word carving and symbolism somehow would as well. "Thanatopictographologist"? |
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08 Oct 10 - 10:44 AM (#3002489) Subject: RE: BS: Gravestone reading From: Rapparee These days, says Ye Olde Tombstone Maker (me), much of the "carving" is so shallow it really can't be called carving. It's more like what you get tapping a stone with another -- a petroglyph. So the word should really be "Thanatopictopetrogylyphicologist." If you put the "lithos" in there you can't appreciate the metal, wood or other materials these memorials have been made from. There's nothing like a nice stroll in an old cemetery. People used to bring lunches and have picnics there, you know. |
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08 Oct 10 - 10:47 AM (#3002491) Subject: RE: BS: Gravestone reading From: Jeri Did you mean "Thanatopictopterogylyphicologist."? |
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08 Oct 10 - 10:49 AM (#3002493) Subject: RE: BS: Gravestone reading From: Rapparee By the way, there is also a problem with gravestone theft. They are stolen for their "folk art" qualities. It would not be well for the thief should I catch them...or for the vandals who break the stones, push them over, etc. I am not an understanding person when it comes to defacing or stealing from graves (I exempt serious science). |
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08 Oct 10 - 10:51 AM (#3002495) Subject: RE: BS: Gravestone reading From: Rapparee Yes, Jeri, I did. Thank you. |
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08 Oct 10 - 11:55 AM (#3002557) Subject: RE: BS: Gravestone reading From: GUEST,Neil D Of course it is fun to see graves of famous people. The Colonial cemetery in Philadelphia covers one city block yet contains the graves of 5 signers of the Declaration of Independence, including Benjamin Franklin. The one in Savannah has a grave that has contained two sets of remains at different times. They were both Revolutionary war generals, one from each side. But even if there are no famous people, visiting cemeteries is a great way to learn the history of an area. The death dates on the oldest stones will give you a good idea of when an area was first being settled and you can learn who were the prominent families, when there might have been yellow fever or cholera epidemics and how the area was represented in various wars. There is a fascinating cemetery about 30 miles from where I live in a small town called Gnadenhutten, which was a Moravian missionary village in the 1700s. It contains a piece of the earliest tombstone in Ohio as well as a 50 foot tall memorial to the Christian Native Americans who were massacred there by U.S. troops during the Revolution. When President Theodore Roosevelt dedicated the monument he called it the most shameful incident in American military history. While snooping around the old part of the cemetery I noticed several gravestones from 35- 40 years after the massacre that noted the persons service in the Washington Co. Pa. militia which just happened to be the same unit that had perpetrated the murders. This means that after the war was over and the area was opened to white settlement these guys moved their families 50 miles to the west in order to settle on the exact spot where they had beaten in the heads of innocent, non-resisting old men, women and children with a cooper's mallet. Talk about a lack of remorse. Here's a tip for recording old and worn gravestones that I learned from a woman who does a lot of genealogy research. It's a better alternative to doing rubbings. Spray the front of the marker with shaving cream and then squeegee it off. The squeegee will remove the cream from the flat area but leave it in the indentations shallow as they might be. Then simply take a photo of the stone and the everything will be entirely legible, more than from a rubbing. You can then get rid of the rest of the shaving cream with a damp rag. |
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08 Oct 10 - 12:30 PM (#3002585) Subject: RE: BS: Gravestone reading From: GUEST,Ebbie, housesitting I'm another who enjoys and values cemeteries. Rather than feeling they are morbid, I feel a connection to what has come before and what will come later. And there is a poignancy that stings. In Juneau, Alaska, there are two little headstones side by side. One says: Emily Rose (last name), (month) born 1941-died 1942. The other is identical except for the birth and death dates. It says 'Emily Rose (last name) born 1943, died 1943... |
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08 Oct 10 - 01:21 PM (#3002640) Subject: RE: BS: Gravestone reading From: frogprince I'm nothing like a serious student of cemetaries and tombstones, but take the opportunity to browse old sites often when traveling around. Some of us students, in a past life, used to drop by an old cemetary between Clarksville and Russellville, in Arkansas. We always visited the grave of Laura Starr Latta, who died in her teens in the early 1900's. Her inscription, under a carved rose: Gentle stranger, passing by As you are now, so once was I As I am now, so you shall be Prepare yourself to follow me. I think that awhile back several people here noted that the same inscription or some close variant used to be fairly common. |
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08 Oct 10 - 01:32 PM (#3002648) Subject: RE: BS: Gravestone reading From: Jeri Rap, my power here went and I have to shut down to conserve batteries. I think when I get back on line later, I may try to pronounce that word. |
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08 Oct 10 - 01:57 PM (#3002674) Subject: RE: BS: Gravestone reading From: Rapparee There's a story in the stonecutter's trade that two old friends had a falling out -- the crusty old bachelors had even purchased graves side-by-side. A week or so after the fight, one died and his stone read Stranger, know as you pass by, As you are now, so once was I As I am now, so you shall be Prepare for death and follow me. The other died a few months later and was buried in the plot chosen many years before. His epitaph read: To follow you I'm not content For I know not Which way you went. Or the original epitaph of James Madison's father, which was replaced by the family because too many people found it offensive: First fruits and tithes Are odious things And so are Bishops, Priests and Kings. But at least you knew where the old man stood! |
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08 Oct 10 - 02:37 PM (#3002709) Subject: RE: BS: Gravestone reading From: Jim Dixon A few years ago there was a minor scandal around here when it came to light that Fort Snelling National Cemetery was disposing of its broken or spoiled (carved with misspellings, etc.) tombstones by selling them to a dealer in ornamental stone, and they were ending up in people's gardens. It came to light when someone bought a house that already had one of these stones being used, face down, as a paving stone. The homeowner turned it over, discovered the inscription, got curious about it, and contacted a newspaper. When the story came out, of course some people claimed that it was sacrilegious, disrespectful to soldiers, etc., so the cemetery had to stop the practice. A tempest in a teapot, if you ask me. |
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08 Oct 10 - 05:46 PM (#3002851) Subject: RE: BS: Gravestone reading From: JennieG There is a story, possibly apocryphal, about a tombstone carver who couldn't fit all the wording on the front of a stone so he carved the final letter on the side, a not uncommon practice, I believe. The inscription, minus the final letter, read "Lord she is thin".....round the side....."e". Cheers JennieG |
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08 Oct 10 - 06:11 PM (#3002867) Subject: RE: BS: Gravestone reading From: Rapparee Federal law says that veteran's gravestones that are replaced for any reason are to be broken before they can be reused. I know that my Great-Uncle, who was sexton in the cemetery where my parents are buried, broke the stones and used them (name side down!) as surrounds for flowers, paving among the graves, and so on. They NEVER left the cemetery. Then there's the one about the married couple who decided to give each other gravestones for their birthdays. Hers was first, and she was quiet when she found the epitaph read "Still Frigid." Some months later she got her own back with "Finally Stiff." |
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08 Oct 10 - 06:39 PM (#3002887) Subject: RE: BS: Gravestone reading From: Bill D I can't say "Thanatopictopterogylyphicologist." I'm an antihypersyllabicsesquipedalianist. Ohh..my spell checked beeped at me! |
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08 Oct 10 - 07:26 PM (#3002914) Subject: RE: BS: Gravestone reading From: Slag Genealogist |
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08 Oct 10 - 09:41 PM (#3002968) Subject: RE: BS: Gravestone reading From: Bat Goddess It's likely I picked up the term via the Association for Gravestone Studies, the Maine Old Cemeteries Association, the New Hampshire Old Graveyards Association, or the Wisconsin State Old Cemetery Society in the early 1980s. I'd been an active member of MOCA since the mid-1970s. thanato = pertaining to death litho = stone ologist = studier of a science or branch of knowledge I'm interested primarily in New England slate markers from around 1650 to about 1825-ish (most willows-and-urns make my eyes glaze over), ligatures on gravestones, and the carver John Just Geyer who was the son of carver Henry Christian Geyer. But I'm also interested in a LOT of peripheral stuff -- including the fact that John Baskerville, type founder, also cut a couple of gravestones. Slate done badly is "carved" -- carved slate is shallow and dead (excuse the term). Letterforms are CUT (with chisel and mallet) into slate, leaving a much cleaner and precise letter. There was a book about 20 years ago entitled, "The Tombstone Tourist: Musicians" which was an interesting book (though the typos drove me to distraction) but included no folk music-related markers. The closest the authors came was Woody Guthrie. (The book was heavy on blues and jazz.) I've locate Francis James Child's marker in the Sedgwick Pie in back of the cemetery in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. And, with the help of the Anne and Frank Warner Collection, Michael Cooney's directions, the assistance of the tourist office on the Mass Pike, my darlin' husband Tom Hall and good friend, Jeri, found Timothy Myrick's marker in Wilbraham, Massachusetts. He was the guy who got bit by the rattlesnake in the song, "Springfield Mountain". Peter Amberley's marker is located in Boiestown, New Brunswick, Canada, but I haven't been there yet. Linn |
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08 Oct 10 - 10:31 PM (#3002984) Subject: RE: BS: Gravestone reading From: Jim Dixon Benjamin Franklin, as a young man, wrote this epitaph for himself, but I don't know whether it was actually used: of BENJAMIN FRANKLIN Printer (Like the cover of an old book Its contents torn out And stript of its lettering and gilding) Lies here, food for worms But the work shall not be lost For it will (as he believed) appear once more In a new and more elegant edition Revised and corrected by THE AUTHOR. |
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08 Oct 10 - 10:51 PM (#3002989) Subject: RE: BS: Gravestone reading From: Rapparee In the buryin' ground in Camp Point, Illinois is a marble obelisk and upon it is the usual data and this: He has gone to his rest To his heavenly home In the Dirty West No one I've talked to knows anything about the guy. Just a curious bit of local carving. Marble is a lousy stone for markers, as is sandstone, wood, limestone, slate (sorry!) and most metals. Granite will last a very long time, especially if the inscription is well blasted or carved. Some stuff looks great but is so lightly done it might as well be paint (which has been used!) on granite. |
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09 Oct 10 - 08:07 AM (#3003140) Subject: RE: BS: Gravestone reading From: kendall A young couple were parked in a graveyard when a cop came by and said to him, "Don't you see that sign that says NO PARKING"? Young man said, "No, I was looking at the one that says "Get a lot while you are young." |
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09 Oct 10 - 11:36 AM (#3003230) Subject: RE: BS: Gravestone reading From: Rapparee True story! There had been a lot of hanky-panky in the cemetery where my great-uncle lived (long story about that) and several young ladies had lost their "honor" and gained a dependent (and a reluctant husband) there. So one lovely, moonless, Spring night he waited behind some of the larger markers. Sure enough, a couple intent on coupling approached. She was giggling and he was moving his hands around her. Both had obviously and illegally been sampling the local brews. "Suppose we see a ghost?" she giggled. "I'LL GHOST YOU, YOU SON OF BITCH!" roared my great-uncle, appearing from behind the gravestones. It is said that the uncoupled couple cleared the six-foot-high pointed iron fence around the cemetery with several feet to spare, and never again were the dead troubled by what their descendants might be plotting near the family plot. My great-uncle walked back to his quarters and opened another bottle of wine. |
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09 Oct 10 - 01:28 PM (#3003286) Subject: RE: BS: Gravestone reading From: Q (Frank Staplin) I recorded the names and photographed the stones in a small, grown-over pioneer graveyard close to where I once had a little farm. The landholder whose farmland surrounded the site did his best to keep visitors out. The little access road was plowed over. Not long after I took the "census" I went back; several of the stones had disappeared. One can perform a service for genealogists by collecting the information from these sites; many have been lost. |
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09 Oct 10 - 01:55 PM (#3003308) Subject: RE: BS: Gravestone reading From: GUEST,kendall Dave Goulder wrote a funny song about a guy who fell into an open grave. |
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09 Oct 10 - 02:18 PM (#3003320) Subject: RE: BS: Gravestone reading From: Rapparee My brother has fallen into many open graves. Most of them he'd just dug. He's the clumsy sort. |
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09 Oct 10 - 02:26 PM (#3003324) Subject: RE: BS: Gravestone reading From: Bat Goddess Reminds me of the story about the drunk who fell into an open grave in the middle of the night and couldn't get out. He kept calling, "Help me. I'm cold. Help me. I'm cold." Finally the caretaker heard him and found him. The guy looked up and said, "Help me; I'm cold." And the caretaker replied, "Of course you're cold. You kicked all the dirt off." Sorry. Linn |
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09 Oct 10 - 05:11 PM (#3003419) Subject: RE: BS: Gravestone reading From: Rapparee Or the drunk who fell into a grave and couldn't get out. As he was laying there another drunk stumbled into the hole. He, too, kept trying to get out, but after the first one said, "It's no use; you'll never get out of here" the second was out in flash. |
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09 Oct 10 - 05:59 PM (#3003441) Subject: RE: BS: Gravestone reading From: Rapparee The problem with reading gravestones is that when you fall asleep reading them they can break your nose. |
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09 Oct 10 - 10:40 PM (#3003565) Subject: RE: BS: Gravestone reading From: LadyJean I visted the grave of my 7 generations back grandfather at the Presbyterian Church in a tiny town called Fairhaven Ohio. He was the church's founder. The stone featured a bio on one side and a truly dreadful poem on the other. I hope I'm not descended from the poet. My sister and I took our cousin John Caldwell there in 2002. We took him around to find Caldwells and Porters, then he sat and reminisced about his boyhood in the 1920s. It was an interesting trip. If you stop by Homewood Cemetery in Pittsburgh, You'll find the grave of Andrew Carnegie's business partner, Henry Clay Frick. The S.O.B.'s grave is surrounded by a brass fence. I've always wondered if it was to keep us out or him in. Stephen Collins Foster is buried in Allegheny Cemetery in Pittsburgh as are Lillian Russell (Well, she's entombed, but she's there.) and Harry Thaw. |
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10 Oct 10 - 12:34 AM (#3003596) Subject: RE: BS: Gravestone reading From: Ebbie Between his various marriages I used to go exploring with my oldest brother- we were both long grown up but we had good times together checking out mountain roads and gold mining claims and cemeteries. In eastern Oregon there are many ghost towns gone to dust and outside town many, many homesteads long abandoned, most of them for lack of available water, I think. Many of those long dead farms with their tumble down houses crumbling into the earth had a small family cemetery out back. Most of them had falling down fences and the weeds were knee high and growing. If I remember correctly the largest cemetery we found had just 8 burial sites. Most of them no longer had names on them - if they ever did - but there were a number of small boards all tumbled 'round about. |
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10 Oct 10 - 04:01 AM (#3003629) Subject: RE: BS: Gravestone reading From: Michael in Swansea I knew you wouldn't let me down. Thanatolithologist, slips of the tongue a lot easier than that other long word. Ta Mike |
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10 Oct 10 - 04:48 AM (#3003636) Subject: RE: BS: Gravestone reading From: Darowyn Just as an observation, why is the phrase "Gravestone researcher" not acceptable as a name when the same thing, translated into Greek,"Thanatolithologist" is seen to be fine? Why, when I go to the doctor, is the first thing he or she will do after I have described my symptoms, is to tell me what those symptoms are in Greek, a language I have some knowledge of but in, most cases the doctor (nor the average patient) has not? Why not use English? Cheers Dave |
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10 Oct 10 - 05:54 PM (#3003989) Subject: RE: BS: Gravestone reading From: Bat Goddess Virus = doctors' Latin for "your guess is as good as mine". I like the word thanatolithologist precisely BECAUSE it's pretentious. As I said, I can usually tell whether a person has a classical education or is reasonably widely read (and knows at least a smattering of the Greek and Latin words that make up the English language). My business card reads "Thanatolithologist" -- when I introduce myself, I describe myself as a researcher on gravestones and gravestone carvers with a special interest in ligatures on gravestones. Linn |
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10 Oct 10 - 06:22 PM (#3004006) Subject: RE: BS: Gravestone reading From: Rapparee Back in my home area I can look at a gravestone and usually be pretty accurate about who made it and when. I can still tell Barre from Georgia granite, etc. Another true story: The monument shop I worked for had been founded about 1870 by a man named, let us say, Schmidt. Even though the founder was long gone, it still bore the name "Schmidt Monument Company" and people would come in looking for Mr. Schmidt. The boss and current owner was NOT named Schmidt, and if a customer came in when his wife was in the office (which was usual) there was no problem. However: A customer walked in and asked for Mr. Schmidt. The boss said that he was across the street in the cemetery. "Will he be returning soon?" the customer asked. "God, I hope not!" replied the boss. At this point the boss's wife walked in and got things sorted out. |
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10 Oct 10 - 06:28 PM (#3004012) Subject: RE: BS: Gravestone reading From: Ebbie "...gravestone carvers with a special interest in ligatures on gravestones." Bat Goddess Ligatures, Linn? |
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10 Oct 10 - 07:08 PM (#3004039) Subject: RE: BS: Gravestone reading From: frogprince Ebbie beat me to the question by 40 minutes. : ) Being tied up to a tombstone sounds kind of kinky, but I wouldn't expect it to leave marks on the stone... |
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10 Oct 10 - 08:51 PM (#3004119) Subject: RE: BS: Gravestone reading From: Ebbie It must be a sub-specialty, Dean. Linn wouldn't mislead us. :) |
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10 Oct 10 - 11:33 PM (#3004200) Subject: RE: BS: Gravestone reading From: Rapparee Please don't tie yourself (or have anyone else tie you) to a gravestone. Believe it or not, ropes, even "grass ropes", can damage the finish or even the stone itself -- especially the old ones of marble. Stone isn't as hard as you think! Besides, you could be tied to one and in the throes of passion pull it over onto you and/or someone else. Nothing like a few hundred pounds of rock landing on you to ruin the mood of whatever you're in the mood for. |
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11 Oct 10 - 08:36 AM (#3004351) Subject: RE: BS: Gravestone reading From: Bat Goddess Ligatures on TYPOGRAPHY, fer-pete's-sake! (How did Pete get in the conversation?!? Maybe he was the guy tied to the gravestone...) You know, type ligatures, the little twirly bits that link certain combinations of letters together -- ct, ff, fi -- so they look better. Deep sigh. I was a digital pre-press print production person and typographer for many many years. That's why I'm actually more interested in the letterforms cut into stone than in the designs and symbols in the tympanum. (Although I like those, too.) Linn |
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11 Oct 10 - 10:51 AM (#3004443) Subject: RE: BS: Gravestone reading From: Rapparee That's the thing, Linn. Gravestones do NOT have to be the cookie cutter stuff produced today. I think I'd like several smaller stones on my grave, each containing part of the information. (This is to annoy the workers who cut the grass.) |
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11 Oct 10 - 11:37 AM (#3004475) Subject: RE: BS: Gravestone reading From: Ebbie Well, she sniffs, "tympanum" sounds like pandemonium to me. |
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11 Oct 10 - 11:48 AM (#3004480) Subject: RE: BS: Gravestone reading From: frogprince Ligatures does make sense, then, in that usage, but hadn't heard it before. Also back in the student days in Arkansas, I saw numerous examples of stones home-made by people who were impoverished and sometimes semi-literate. These included at least one slab of cement with the inscription, including "bornd" on the given date, printed in with a finger, and at least one other cement slab with the information spelled out in imbedded glass marbles. |
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11 Oct 10 - 07:41 PM (#3004781) Subject: RE: BS: Gravestone reading From: Bat Goddess As I said earlier, John Baskerville, a type founder who designed the typeface today known as Baskerville, and was responsible for developing new paper finishes and ink that would showcase his controversial type designs, also cut at least two gravestones. One may have been a sampler/display piece. Both are lost. That's a combination of two of my loves -- typography and funerary art, particularly stone cutting. Two cutters have been instrumental in giving me pointers, tools, and books so I can learn to cut slate. One is Doug Coffin of Belfast, Maine whom I was "in love with" when he drew a marvelously witty (Maine humor) strip called "Cronies" for the Maine Times back in the '70s, and Fud Benson, sculptor, stone cutter, fiddler extraordinaire (he can sing and play fiddle at the same time, as can Cindy Kallett), all 'round dandy fellow, and owner (with his son) of the Stevens Shop in Newport, Rhode Island -- oldest continuously operating gravestone operation in the United States. See A Bit on John Benson Linn |
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11 Oct 10 - 09:40 PM (#3004861) Subject: RE: BS: Gravestone reading From: Rapparee We had raised lettering which could be transferred to the stencils on the materials which protected the stone during sandblasting (hand carving was another, much less frequent, operation). You had a choice of typefaces -- Baskerville, Fraktur (for some of the old-time German family groups), Hebrew, Greek, Cyrilic.... If the stone wasn't in English it had to be read and approved (in writing) just before the letters were cut in the stencil material, even if it was in German or Latin, two languages The Boss was fairly fluent in. If it was in English the inscription still had to be viewed by the purchaser before we'd continue. I remember the local Rabbi coming in to check on the stencils before they were cut into the protective material -- nice guy. |