1. Coffins, Burial Cases and Caskets

2. 17th and 18th Century Coffined Burial in America
HAFD page 157
1750: coffined burial common among upper and middle class
subdivision of crafts
1800: “coffin furniture” manufactured in America

3. Readings Question #1 HAFD page 160
Describe the early American coffins of the wealthy as well as the less fortunate.
coffinmaking became a specialty
“furnishing undertakers”
1850: “coffin shop”

4. Early Coffin Shops and Coffin Warehouses
War of 1812: Western expansion
rapid growth and spread of coffin shops
coffin warehouses
funerals began to emphasize the coffin
quality, price and “diversity of purpose”
2/3 of the funeral bill was the cost of the coffin

5. Readings Question #2 HAFD page 162
List the goals that the coffin and casket makers set for their product.

6. Stone and Metal Coffins (HAFD page 163)
1835: 1st American patents for coffins made of stone, marble, and cement
1836: 1st American patent for a metal coffin
1860: patents on coffins made of clay; cement and wood; iron and wood; zinc; iron and glass; iron; cement; marble; and artificial stone
1900: patents for vulcanized rubber, fabricated metals; papier-mache; aluminum; cloth and wood; wood and glass; inner-coffins; celluloid

7. Readings Question #3 HAFD page 164
Describe the “Fisk Metallic Coffin”. What were some of its claims?

8. Fisk Metallic Coffin
The one on the left was disinterred in 1969.

9. Metallic Burial Cases HAFD page 165 1850: first introduced to America
new mode of coffin construction based on mass production methods
stove manufacturers

10. Readings Question #4 HAFD page 166
What were the 3 primary claims made by the manufacturers of metallic burial cases?

11. Metallic Burial Casket
HAFD page Plate 31
1859: rectangular shape adopted
“ogee design”
lighter metal and cloth-covered wooden burial cases and caskets were becoming more popular
early 1870’s: 1st sheet metal casket
1890’s: term “casket” used

12. Cloth Burial Cases HAFD page 171 1871: Stein Casket Company
wood casket, covered with cloth
competition with the durability of the metallic burial cases

13. Readings Question #5 HAFD page 175
What happened at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition of 1876 that influenced the public’s opinion of cloth burial cases?

14. Readings Question #6 HAFD page 175 Plate 33
Describe the “Style E State Casket”.
1890 Stein merged with the National Casket Company

15. Life Signals HAFD page 180 “earliest” in Baltimore, 1843: Plate 32a
Newark NJ, Frank Vester, 1868: Plate 32b
Hoboken NJ, Wuest, 1871: Plate 32b & 34
Indianapolis, Fearnaught, 1882:
“Grave Signal” Plate 35
Youngstown Ohio, Krichbaum, 1882: Plate 36

16. Readings Question #7 HAFD page 183
Describe the “coffin torpedo”. What was its purpose?

17. Burial Vaults and Outside Boxes
HAFD page 183
19th century: rock, stone, brick or concrete slabs
1890: “sectionals”
1872: coffin-box
“rough box”
1900: concrete burial vault introduced