A GRAVE AFFAIR

A Bibliography of books & other materials
on gravestones, cemeteries, epitaphs,
mourning, funerals, and related subjects.

These pages include items we have sold over the last decade, as well as other entries, and they are updated with new material on a regular basis. We hope that they will be interesting to those interested in these subjects. If you see a book listed here you would like to locate,
please let us know.

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T., E.M. Into the Silent Land: Epitaphs Quaint, Curious, Historic. Copied Chiefly from Tombstones, by E.M.T., with comments and illustrations. London; Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent & Co.:nd (ca.1893). An interesting late Victorian epitaph book; the author apologizes for the fact that many of the 16th-18th century epitaphs are not exactly what Victorians thought of as being in "good taste". "From early times the satirical, the punning, the bombastic, and the malicious epitaph have been indulged in. Our ancestors seem to have frequently looked upon the churchyard as a fair field for mirth at the expense of the departed. Gibes, allusions to deformities, misfortunes, or peculiarities often meet the eye, puns and double entendres are set forth, and we are sometimes puzzled to account for the levity and want of good taste displayed by survivors, who could think it worth their while to record in stone their neighbors' foibles and peccadilloes." She offers several explanations for this of which this is by far the most interesting- "The village churchyard would oftentimes be a place of rendez-vous in the long summer evenings, the tombstone inscriptions would be read, criticized, applauded or condemned, and if they caused a laugh or contained a good joke, so much the better." The text is illustrated with four albumen photographs, two of medieval effigies, one of a Canova-like tomb sculpture, and one Elizabethan memorial shrine. The photos were "specially taken and mounted by Mr. B. Gratton of Bakewell". An exceptionally interesting Victorian mourning-related photographic book. Hardcover. 7.5"x10", viii, 127 pages, plus 4 albumen photographs pasted-in; pictorial covers with another photograph mounted-on.

T., E.M. Into the Silent Land: Epitaphs Quaint, Curious, Historic. Copied Chiefly from Tombstones, by E.M.T., with comments and illustrations. London; Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent & Co.:nd (ca.1893). This book is usually found bound in cloth with 4 pasted-in albumen plates, not limp cloth covers, with no bound-in plates, as this one is. This appear to be an unrecorded "cheap" edition, not a defective copy, but is in any case priced considerably below what we would price the illustrated edition. Limp cloth covers. 7.5"x10", viii, 127 pages.

Talvio, Maila. Jumalan Puistot. Leposijoja ja Hautausmaita. Porvoo; Werner Soderstrom Osakeyhtio:1927. An absolutely lovely and moving pictorial survey of Finnish cemeteries, stones and monuments, from the Middle Ages to the early 20th century. Hardcover. 9"x11.5", 173 pages, plus 368 pages of sepia-toned illustrations.

Tarbox, Rev. Increase N. An Address delivered at the Consecration of the Cemetery in the Town of Framingham, October 13th, 1848 by Rev. Increase N. Tarbox. Together with some account of the establishment of the cemetery, and the order of the exercises at the consecration. Boston; Press of Joseph L. Hallworth:1849. Softcover. 5.5"x9", 20 pages.

Tashjian, Dickran & Ann. Memorials for Children of Change. The Art of Early New England Stonecarving. Middletown; Wesleyan University Press: 1974. A broad-based study of 17th and 18th century gravestones of New England. The Tashjians consider the stones as works of art within the context of Puritan society. Their revisionist interpretation of Puritan grave art is drawn both from period theological writings as well as a detailed analysis of funeral rituals, and a comparison of gravestones to secular art forms of that era, such as furniture making, portraiture and needlework. Hardcover. 7"x10", 309 pages, b/w illustrations, dj; bibliography.

Taylor, Lou. Mourning Dress, A Costume and Social History. London; George Allen and Unwin:1983. "Chronicles the development of European and American mourning dress and etiquette from the middle ages to the present day, from the detailed sumptuary edicts relating to mourning dress at court in the fifteenth century, through elaborate nineteenth-century rituals for the first, second, ordinary and half-mourning, to modern couturier-designed costumes..." Hardcover. 6.5"x9.5", 327 pages, 161 b&w illustrations, dj.

Tegg, William. Epitaphs Witty, Grotesque, Elegant, &c., &c., together with a Study of Epigrams. [bound with] Wills of Their Own -Curious, Eccentric and Benevolent. London; William Tegg & Co.: 1875 (and) 1876. The first work constitutes an interesting if somewhat hazily organized collection of epitaphs, with a great many early epitaphs included. The second work is of related interest and focuses on a seldom-examined subject. Hardcover. 4.5"x6", viii +112 [and] iv + 124 pages.

Thompson, Sir H. Modern Cremation. Cremation: Its History and Practice to the Present Date. With information relating to the latest improvements and experience both in this country and abroad. London; Smith, Elder & Co.:1901. 4th edition, revised and enlarged. This study includes a history of modern cremation, which the author says originated in Italy in the 1860s. It also includes a history of the Cremation Society of England, and its work from its founding in 1874 to 1900. The book is half history, half advocation, cremation still being a controversial subject in 1900. Of great interest are the plates of tasteful and stately crematoria buildings. Hardcover. 5"x7.5", 192 pages, 6 text illustrations and 5 b&w plates.

Thy Son Liveth. Messages from a Soldier to His Mother. Boston; Little, Brown and Company:1919. Ostensibly the anonymous letters of a soldier, later killed in Flanders, to his mother. One suspects some rather heavy editing, as the religious content is high and the descriptive content low. Interesting however, as the sort of memorial volume published after the war to comfort other mothers who had lost sons in the fighting. Hardcover. 5"x7.25", 84 pages.

Tissington, Silvester. A Collection of Epitaphs and Monumental Inscriptions, on The most Illustrious Persons of All Ages and Countries. London; Simpkin, Marshall, & Company: 1857. This study is divided into Sovereigns; Army & Navy Officers; Soldiers & Sailors; Unfortunate Persons; Divines; Infants & Children; Young Persons; Friends; Painters; Actors; Musicians; Servants; Good Wives; Bad Wives; Loving Couples; Poets and Authors; Bad Orthography; Instances of Longevity; Parish Clerks; Drunkards; Misers; Maidens & Ladies; Judges and Statesmen; Architects & Sculptors; Astronomers; Remarkable Persons; and Tradesmen. Hardcover. 6"x9", xv + 517 pages.

Tocque, Rev. Philip. The Voice of the Sea: A Sermon, preached on Sunday evening, October 2, 1853, in St. Mary's Church, Richmond Street, Boston, to Commemorate the Death of the late Captain Robert Hutchings, of the British steamer "Andes" who died from injuries received during a hurricane on his last voyage from Liverpool to Boston, and was buried at sea on the 17th of September last. Boston; C.C.P. Moody:1853. A native of Newfoundland, Captain Hutchings had been a sailor since his youth, and had worked his way up with the Cunard line on the run to America. He had himself superintended the fitting out of the new Cunard steamer "Andes", one of four passenger/cargo steamers built for the Liverpool-America run, in the spring of 1852 and had been captain on her maiden and subsequent voyages. "Andes" encountered the hurricane on the night of September 11th while steaming from Liverpool to Boston. Captain Hutchings was thrown down from the rigging to the deck and injured his head and spine; during the same storm the second mate was washed overboard and not seen again. The Captain succumbed to his injuries on the 17th and was buried at sea. Softcover. 5"x7.5", 14 pages.

Toldervy, W. Select Epitaphs. Collected by W. Toldervy. London; Printed for W. Owen, Temple-Bar: 1755. The first major English compilation of Epitaphs. Although it goes back to the death of St. Alban in 293, it contains a wealth of 16th, 17th and 18th century material. Countless later works were built upon the foundation of Toldervy's work. Hardcover. 2 volumes. 4.25"x6.75", xiv + 216; x + 238 pages; both volumes feature the dramatic engraved frontispiece which shows a robed cleric being surprised by the skeleton of Death, holding an hourglass in one hand, and an arrow, pointed at the cleric's heart, in the other.

Tolman, George. "Graves and Worms and Epitaphs". Concord Antiquarian Society:1902. A paper read before the Concord (Mass.) Antiquarian Society on the history of Concord's two oldest burial grounds and their gravestones. Softcover. 6"x9", 30 pages, b&w frontispiece illustrating 8 headstones.

Tomarken, Annette H. The Smile of Truth. The French Satirical Eulogy and Its Antecedents. Princeton University Press: 1990. A scholarly study of how the classical satirical eulogy was revived in Renaissance France and expanded and adapted to meet the needs of writers and poets including Erasmus and Rabelais. Light and frothy bedtime reading. Hardcover. 6.5"x9.5", xiv + 354 pages; dj.

Townsend, Rev. P. A Sermon Preached October 26, at Stafford Springs, at the Funeral of James W. Brooks, of Co. I, 16th Regiment Connecticut Volunteers, Who Died October 11th, from Wounds Received at the Battle of Antietam, September 17th, 1862. Palmer, Mass.: G.M. Fisk & Company: 1862. Made up of volunteers from Hartford and surrounding towns, the 16th Regiment Connecticut Volunteer Infantry mustered into service in August, 1862. Within three weeks, without even having been trained how to load their guns, they were tossed into the bloody maelstrom of the Battle of Antietam as part of Harland's 2nd Brigade of Burnside's 9th Corps. Posted on the extreme left of the Union lines they were ordered to cross the lower bridge at Snavely's Ford and found themselves in a corn field, were they were raked with fire by Gregg's veteran brigade of South Carolinians from A. P. Hill's Corps. In only a few minutes almost 200 men fell, including Private Brooks. The Rev. Townsend was pastor of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Stafford Springs, Connecticut. A poignant reminder of a famous battle. Uncommon; OCLC locates a single copy. Softcover. 5.75"x8.75", 18 pages; publisher's printed light yellow covers.

[trade card] Trade Card for Portsmouth, New Hampshire Marble Works. Portsmouth; no date (c.1870-1900). The cards reads- "Borthwick & Welsh, Marble Workers. Constantly on hand - Foreign and American Marble for Gravestones & Monuments, Shops in Exeter, Front St., near the Depot of the Boston & Maine Railroad, and at No.18 Bow St., Portsmouth, N.H." I haven't been able to find much information on Borthwick & Welsh, but the Salisbury Point Cemetery in Amesbury, Massachusetts has an 1846 stone signed by the firm. 1 Card. 2.5"x3.5", black ink on cream stock, using several fancy lettering fonts.

Trauer-Album dem Andenken meiner teueren Tochter Anna-Felziger geb. Kothardt. Wien; Erwin Singer:1910. Evidently a do-it-yourself German Hebrew memorial book, with blanks to be filled in. There are some drawings inside of memorial stones, etc., but it is the covers that are the most striking -a royal dark blue background with a raised silver design showing an elaborate plinth and draped urn, a gowned figure leaning against it, holding a wreath, all under a willow-type tree, with palm leaves at the base. 7.5"x10.5", 24 pages.

Treat, John Harvey. The Catacombs of Rome, and A History of the Tombs of the Apostles Peter and Paul with notes and illustrations. Boston; The Old Corner Bookstore:1907. Originally published as a series of articles in the La Porte, Indiana Daily Herald in 1906. A good thumbnail sketch of early Christian tombs and catacombs with copious notes, quotes and annotations from other sources. Hardcover. 6"x9.5", 111 pages, 20 b&w illustrations

Tymeson, Mildred McClary. Rural Retrospect. A Parallel History of Worcester And Its Rural Cemetery. Worcester:1956. Edition limited to 1000 copies. This Massachusetts cemetery was founded in 1838. Hardcover. 8"x9", 264 pages, color frontis and b&w illustrations.

[Undertaker's Card] "Davis Brothers, Dealers in Fine, Medium and Common Furniture, Drapery Poles and Curtain Fixtures. Five and Ten Cent Goods a Specialty. Also, Funeral and Furnishing Undertakers. Davis Block, Tenant's Harbor, Maine. Probably 1890-1900. An interesting card showing the various businesses with which small-town undertakers were engaged in the late 19th century. 3"x4.5", nice typography.

Undertaker's Invoice. An Itemized Invoice for a Funeral by Booth & Boylston, Funeral Directors. Los Angeles, California, May 23, 1896. This single-sheet, itemized invoice on the undertaker's letterhead includes the casket, carriage, funeral notices, etc. Interestingly, the printed letterhead is for Neitzke & Speck; that name is crossed out, with a rubberstamp for Booth & Boylston stamped above it. An interesting pre-1900 California undertaker item. 1 sheet, 8.5"x7".

Undertaker's Invoice. An Itemized Invoice for a Funeral by Wm. W. Hullfish, General Furnishing Undertaker. Newark, NJ, October 8th, 1879. This single-sheet, itemized invoice on the undertaker's letterhead seems to cover everything, from sending a wagon to New York to collect the body ($10.80) to "laying out remains -$5.00", "black cloth casket mounted and trimmed -$85.00", "Plate and engraving -$6.00", "Opening grave -$5.00", "Mound of flowers with name Father -$10.00", "Hearse -$10.00", "10 Coaches @4.00 -$40.00", "1 pr. Red Gloves for Minister -$1.75", and so on- the total bill was $242.75. 1 sheet, 8.5"x10.5".

Undertaker's token. Undertaker's token. St. Louis, ca. 1880? A large token reading -"This coin is worth $15.00 in trade to holder or any of Holder's family who meet death by accident if we have charge of arrangements" and on the other side- "Free Insurance Coin - Geo. Krieghauser Undertaking and Livery Co. Union -4102 Manchester Ave. St. Louis -1 coin to each order". Token diameter 1 3/8" (larger than a half-dollar).

Unger, Frederick W. Epitaphs. A unique collection of post mortem comment, obituary wit, and quaint and gruesome fancy. Philadelphia; The Penn Publishing Company: 1906. 2nd Prtg.The author had made a detailed study of past epitaph literature and attempted to include only previously unrecorded epitaphs or those that had only appeared in "rare publications, long out of print". Hardcover. 4.75"x6", 169 pages + 15 pages of book listings.

Utechin, Patricia. Epitaphs from Oxfordshire. Oxford; Friends Of The Oxfordshire Churches: 1980. A selection of epitaphs collected from the churches and churchyards of the towns and villages of Oxfordshire. Hardcover. 4.5"x8", xv + 79 pages, line illustrations, dj.

Valentine, David T. (ed.). The Obsequies of Abraham Lincoln in the City of New York. New York; Edmund Jones & Co.:1865. A full and detailed report of how the death of Lincoln was observed and mourned in New York City. This includes text of all the resolutions passed, a square by square and neighborhood by neighborhood description of the mourning observances and decorations, in many cases describing how individual buildings were draped and decorated, and including the text of various mourning cards and placards placed in windows; the ceremonies surrounding the President's body lying in state, a complete description of the marchers in the funeral parade by division, and on and on in incredible detail. There are many text illustrations and a number of full page plates showing scenes from the ceremonies, individual decorated buildings, etc. Hardcover. 7.5"x11", 254 pages, portrait frontispiece, decorated title page, and 7 engraved duo-tone plates; text illustrations and decorative vignettes. Original black cloth with gilt title surrounding a cloth-draped funeral urn on the front cover, gilt spine title and urn; the text is printed with a thick black border around each page.

Valley View Memorial Chapel. Dedication Ceremony Booklet. Ticonderoga:1901. The booklet includes an essay by Joseph Cook, written a month before he died and three months before the dedication. Cook was instrumental in the construction, and even gave, as the floor stone for the pulpit, a foot-square stone that he somehow managed to purchase from a monk from the Garden of Gethsemane in 1881... Softcover. 5.5"x7", 10 pages.

Veauce, Eugene de. Les masques mortuaires de Napoleon. Le point de la question. Paris; La Pensee Universelle: 1971. One of 20 numbered copies on "Papier Alfa Mousse". Another shot in the Napoleonic Death Mask Wars. More than a hundred and fifty years after the Emperor's death the controversy over the authenticity of his half-dozen death masks rages almost as hotly as the question of who shot JFK... Baron Veauce wrote several other works on the subject and was a proponent of the so-called "Antommarchi mask", apparently created by Dr.'s Burton and Antommarchi, Napoleon's former surgeon... or perhaps not. Softcover. 5.5"7.5", 123 pages, 16 b/w plates.

[Vermont Marble Company] Vermont Marble Company's Designs. Proctor:nd (ca. 1900). A trade catalog of memorial and gravestones, columns, etc., ranging from the fancy to subdued. 7"x9.5", about 150 pages, some pages excised. With- a softcover book titled "1904 Price List" which illustrates many of the headstones in line drawings. 5"x8.5", 296 pages, limp cloth cover.

[Vermont Marble Company] Vermont Marble Company. 1918 Price List of Rutland White, Vermont Blue, Sutherland Falls, Pittsford Valley, Pittsford Italian, Riverside, Brandon Italian. Proctor, Vermont: 1918. A comprehensive trade catalog of the full variety of tombstones and memorials available from this important marble company. The first 25 pages discuss type of marbles and finishes, show how stones are shipped, and illustrate several mausoleums and monuments. The last 575 pages are devoted to line illustrations, technical specifications and prices of the tombstones and memorial stones themselves, in a variety of period styles, usually 2-3 per page. Limp cloth covers. 4.5"x8.5", 600 pages, several thousand line illustrations.

Victorian Manuscript Poem, np;1875. A hand-lettered script poem, "Mary Gray", about a woodland maiden who succumbs to the charms of a traveling Romeo who then moves on, leaving her to die of anguish and heartache, to be buried in a cold grave in her beloved woodland. I haven't identified the original poet, but it sounds like it was written in the 1840s or 50s. A very revealing look into Victorian attitudes toward morality and death, obviously celebrated here. The transcriber has lettered the poem nicely, and included a cut-out colored picture of a gold-haired maiden; he has drawn a frame with birds and leaves around her, and adds further designs. In (very) tiny letters it is inscribed "Respty Dedicated to my Friend Jas. Y. Hill by M. (illegible), Aug 24/75". 7"x12", 5 pages.

Vincent, W.T. In Search of Gravestones, Old and Curious. London; Mitchell & Hughes: 1896. Not simply a book of epitaphs, this is also a book of English gravestone designs. The author includes separate chapters on artistic gravestones, professional gravestones, early gravestones, gravestones in Ireland, Scotland and abroad, and the regulation of gravestones. 102 stones are illustrated in graceful, if somewhat offhand, line drawings. Hardcover. 5.5"x9", xii + 114 pages, 102 line illustrations.

Vines, Richard. Bibliotheca Curiosa. The Hearse of the Right Honorable Robert, Earl of Essex by Richard Vines. Published by order of the House of Peers. 1646. Edinburgh; privately printed:1886. Limited to 275 small paper and 75 large-paper copies. A reprinting of the 17th century funeral ceremonies. Hardcover. 6"x9", 50 pages.

Wakeley, Rev. Joseph B. The Ethics of Funerals: A vindication of the Methodist Episcopal Church and of the Rev. J.B. Wakeley against the Slanders of the New-York Churchman with regard to the Funeral of William Poole. New York; 1855. An interesting document illustrating the extreme vigor with which Protestant denominations fought each other in the 19th century. William Poole was a 35 year-old gambler who was handy with his fists and a fixture at local taverns. After being shot by a bunch of "rowdies" he lingered more than a week before expiring, and during that time he repented his evil ways and showed great concern for his soul. Reverend Wakeley of the Methodist Episcopal Church agreed to supervise the funeral and was glad to consign Poole's soul to Heaven, much to the consternation of the editors of The Churchman, a city newspaper published by the Protestant Episcopal Church, which took a (much) sterner view of what it took to avoid the eternal fires of damnation. 5.25"x8", 34 pages.

Walker, G.A. Gatherings from Grave Yards; particularly those of London: with a concise history of the Modes of Internment among different nations, from the earliest periods. And a detail of dangerous and fatal results produced by the unwise and revolting custom of inhuming the dead in the midst of the living. London; Longman and Company:1839. A very influential book. Back in the early 19th century corpses were piled up like kindling in city graveyards; when the graveyards were filled the corpses were dug up and burned or sold for fertilizer and the coffins broken up, with enterprising graveyard owners selling the fittings back to undertakers. The stench surrounding these city graveyards was unbearable, they fouled the water, and then cholera broke out... Dr. Walker's book was very influential in bringing popular attention to this problem, and in encouraging the burgeoning "garden cemetery" movement. Hardcover. 6"x9.5", engraved and letterpress title pages and 258 pages of text, plus 4 pages of "Opinions from the Press".

Wallis, Charles L. Stories on Stone. A Book of American Epitaphs. New York; Oxford University Press: 1954. An annotated selection grouped by subject matter and indexed by name and locality. There are more than 750 interesting inscriptions gathered from 48 states "commemorating the deaths of statesmen, eccentrics, and prize cows, among others". Hardcover. 6.5"x9.5", 272 pages, b/w chapter head illustrations, dj; bibliography.

War Memorials. Boston Society of Architects; nd (ca.1920). A short pictorial survey of what was considered to be good taste in monuments, such as the Shaw Memorial (Boston), Lincoln Memorial Park (Chicago), The Lion of Lucerne, Soldiers Memorial (Pittsburgh), a memorial street fountain in Paris, etc. 9"x12", 12 pages, b&w illustrations.

Ward, F.W.F. Tombstone Poetry and Scriptural Quotations collected and classified by F.W.F. Ward For the use of Monumental Masons and Associated Trades. London; G. Pulman & Sons: 1895. "The object in compiling this work has been to place in the hands of Monumental Masons and associated Trades -in a concise form- a collection of verse of Poetry and quotations from Scripture, suited to the needs and tastes of all persons". An uncommon title -only one listing appears in the OCLC. Hardcover. 5.25"x7.5", 218 pages.

Ward, Jessica Bemis. Food to Die For. A Book of Funeral Food, Tips and Tales. Lynchburg; Old City Cemetery/Southern Memorial Association: 2004.A cookbook and photographic tour of Lynchburg's historic Old City Cemetery, all in one book! "The act of taking food to the bereaved when someone has died is a way of giving expression to sentiments that cannot always be put into words. Practically and psychologically, the edible offering provides sustenance and comfort. It is the main object of this book to gather the recipes that people present as Funeral food. This unique cookbook includes more than 100 great recipes for Central Virginia's favorite comfort foods, including Jane's Corn Pudding, Cheese Straws, Mur's Peas, Bookstore Punch, and Sweet Briar Cookies as well as lighthearted looks at funeral customs, old and new, practical advice for writing obituaries and condolence notes, and useful terminology like 'funeral tsar' and 'dying order'. The cookbook contains 180 pages of recipes, etiquette, and anecdotes". Established in 1806, the Old City Cemetery in Lynchburg, Virginia is the state's oldest continuously-operated public cemetery. This book contains not only funeral lore and recipes, but many photographs of the beautiful and historic grounds and buildings. A unique cookbook. Spiralbound. 7.5"x9", 180 pages, b/w illustrations.

[Washington] A Selection of Orations and Eulogies, pronounced in different parts of the United States, in commemoration of the life, virtues, and pre-eminent services of Gen. George Washington, Who Died, at Mount Vernon, December 14th, 1799; in the 68th year of his age. Amherst; printed by Samuel Preston:1800. An early collection of Washington eulogies, including those of General Lee, Judge Minot, Ames, Smith, Atherton, Paine, McGaw and Orr. Hardcover. 4.5"x7", 165 + 1 pages, decorative title page with a scene of two willow trees bending over a footed urn.

Weaver, Lawrence. Memorials & Monuments, Old and New: Two hundred subjects chosen from seven centuries. London; Country Life: 1915. An interesting book- at once a sweeping art-history course in 700 years of monument & memorial making, and at the same time a serious and practical guide meant to assist those designing future monuments and memorials to do the job better. Weaver includes chapters on the history, settings, styles, materials, emblems & symbols, heraldry, lettering, and inscriptions for monuments and memorials; military and civic memorials, churchyard memorials, and tablets for buildings. Hardcover. 6.5"x9.5", vi + 479 pages, 258 b/w illustrations.

Webb, T. A New Select Collection of Epitaphs Panegyrical and Moral, Humorous, Whimsical, Satyrical, and Inscriptive; including the most Remarkable Inscriptions in the collections of Hackett, Jones and Toldervy; together with one thousand epitaphs never before published. London; S. Bladon: 1775. "The difficulty experienced in procuring the Collections of Epitaphs published by Jones, Hackett and Toldervy, first suggested the Idea of the following Compilation, which was originally intended to preserve the most curious or valuable Inscriptions in their Publications from Oblivion. Scarcely was the Plan of the following Sheets conceived, when Accident threw the Editor into the Company of an ingenious Gentleman, whose Situation in Life had furnished him with Opportunities, and whose literary Taste and Industry had led him to form a collection of Epitaphs. To this Gentleman, who has visited many of the principal Towns and Villages of this Island, and never left any without adding to his Monumental Compilation, the Editor acknowledges himself indebted for the major Part of the unpublished Epitaphs which will be found in this Collection... To this Gentleman's valuable Compilation, and most Curious or Remarkable Inscriptions in Jones, Hackett, and Toldervy's Publications, the Editor has added a small MSS. Collection of his own, with a very considerable Number of Epitaphs, equally valuable, extracted from the Gentleman's and London Magazines, and Annual Registers, and which he never remembers to have seen in any former Publication of this Kind". The volumes are designed so that one type of epitaph does not come into too-close contact with another- Volume 1 is devoted to "all epitaphs distinguished by the elegance, delicacy, and poetical beauties of their composition, or by the unaffected piety, Christian resignation and pure morality of their sentiments", whereas Volume 2 contains "epitaphs as are remarkable for their wit, humor, satire or singularity". Hardcover. 2 volumes. 4.25"x7", [vi] + 341 + 249 pages.

Webster, Daniel. A Discourse in Commemoration of the Lives and Services of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, delivered in Faneuil Hall, Boston, August 2, 1826. Boston; Cummings, Hilliard and Company: 1826. Perhaps the penultimate American euology- the greatest orator of Ante-bellum America, and a righteous defender of the Union, commemorating the lives of two of the Founding Fathers. Jefferson and Adams died the same day -July 4th, 1826, the fiftieth anniversary of the Signing. Several weeks later Daniel Webster gave this oration at Boston's Faneuil Hall. "The tears which flow, and the honors that are paid, when the Founders of the Republic die, give hope that the Republic itself may be immortal". Disbound. 5"x8.5", 62 pages.

[Webster, Daniel] Report of the Committee of Arrangements appointed by the Common Council of the City of New York, to render a suitable Tribute of Respect to the Memory of the Hon. Daniel Webster, late Secretary of State of the United States. New York; McSpendon & Baker: 1853. The complete ceremonies, speeches including the parade and funeral orders, descriptions of the ceremonies, etc. A wonderful and interesting moment-by-moment chronicle of a mid-Victorian state funeral service/tribute. The four lithographed plates illustrate the scene at City Hall as the drape-shrouded coffin (not containing the body -he was buried at Marshfield, MA) is borne in behind an honor guard; the procession turning down the street in front of Astor House; the procession halted at Astor Place; the oration at Metropolitan Hall. In addition, this is an elegant Victorian memorial volume, with gilt urn and willow cover decoration, and the text on each page surrounded by a black border and surmounted by an urn and drape vignette. Hardcover. 6"x9", 255 pages, plus 4 tinted lithographed plates. Bound in original black cloth with a gilt impressed memorial design of an urn and willow on the front cover.

Weever, John. Ancient Funerall Monuments within the United Monarchie of Great Britain, Ireland, and the Islands adjacent, with the dissolved Monastaries therein contained; their Founders, and what eminent Persons have beene in the same interred... London; Thomas Harper: 1631. "As also the death and burial of certaine of the Bloud Royale; the Nobilitie and Gentrie of these Kingdomes entombed in forraine Nations... whereunto is prefixed a Discourse of Funerall Monuments...". Despite its over-reaching title, Weever's study covers the Diocese of London, Canterbury, Rochester and Norwich -other volumes may have been planned, but this one took the author 30 years to research, and he died just a few months after it was published.
          Although Weever's transcription skills have been criticized, he also offers the only extant record of many stones and monuments now obliterated, so this remains as an important (and heavy) record. As a history of Medieval monuments and eminent personages, Weever has been used as a reference source by many historians and writers, amongst them the famous boy forger of Bristol, Thomas Chatterton. Weever himself was a graduate of Queen's College and a most interesting fellow- Ian Wright describes him in an essay on the Queen's College website as "an extraordinarily interesting and eccentric character - connoisseur of graveyards, tobacco-enthusiast, sycophant, satirist, dwarf, penner of dirty ditties, egotist, pugnacious Lancashire man and proud of it... (the book) testifies to the breadth of his literary interests- it is packed with literary allusions and quotations".
            Weever was in fact also a poet and traveled in literary circles; he was an ardent admirer of Shakespeare, and wrote the earliest known poem addressed to Shakespeare. In his essay Wright delves into the Weever-Shakespeare connection at some length, making a good case not only that the two were acquainted, but that Weever's own life and works may throw new light on Shakespeare's "lost years", through a connection with the prominent Houghton family, that ends up with Shakespeare having been a tutor at Houghton Tower. He also points out that Weever's "Faunus and Melliflora", written in 1600, "has a section with close verbal echoes of the nunnery scene in Hamlet". Now the date Hamlet was written remains controversial, but most scholars have fixed it at 1601. That, however, is a year after Weever's "Faunus". Wright continues- "Either - as I believe myself - the experts are wrong about the date of Hamlet or it was Shakespeare who borrowed from Weever, not vice versa!"
           But all of this has strayed quite far from the book at hand- "Ancient Funerall Monuments" remains a fitting monument to the memory of this incredibly interesting antiquary. The book was handsomely printed with a variety of typefaces, ruled margins, woodcuts and decorated initial letters. Hardcover. 8"x11.5", [viii] + [ii] + errata leaf + 871 + xiv pages; portrait frontispiece and decorated title page, with 5 additional full-page woodcuts and 15 woodcuts in the text; numerous decorated initial letters. Contains the portrait frontispiece of the author, the extra engraved title page, and the original index, some or all of which are often lacking.

Weever, John. Antient Funeral Monuments, of Great-Britain, Ireland, and the Islands adjacent. With the Dissolved Monasteries Therein contained; Their Founders, and what Eminent Persons have been therein interred. As also, the Death and Burial of certain of the Blood-Royal, Nobility and Gentry of these kingdoms, entombed in foreign nations. Intermixed and illustrated with variety of Historical 0bservations, Annotations, and Brief Notes; Extracted out of Approved Authors, Infallible Records, Ledger Books, Charters, Rolls, Old Manuscripts, and the collections of Jucicious Antiquaries, whereunto is prefixed, A Discourse on Funeral Monuments, Containing an Account of the Foundation and Fall of Religious Houses -Of Religious Orders -Of the Ecclesiastical State of England -And of other Occurrences touched upon throughout the Work. London; printed by W. Tooke and sold by J. Wilkie:1767. First published in 1631. In addition to extensive accountings of noble deaths and family tombs and memorials, there is much interesting information on ancient and early funeral and mourning customs. 8.5"x10.5", engraved portrait frontispiece, title page, dedication page, [3], clxxvii + 608 pages, folding chart, a half-dozen woodcuts in the text including a full-page cut on an ancient armorial font; plus 5 engraved plates of armorial memorial monuments, lettered A-E.

Wickes, Stephen. Sepulture: Its History, Methods and Sanitary Requisites. Philadelphia; P. Blakiston, Son & Co.: 1884. A survey of burial and its history, written by an eminent New Jersey physician. Wickes begins with a history of ancient burial to show, as he says, that “in this our day of light and of the knowledge of nature’s laws, we are still cherishing in our methods of internment customs born and fostered in the dark ages”. Dr Wickes covers burial among the ancient Greeks, Romans, and Persians, moves to Native American burials, and early Christian burial, and then gets to the heart of the matter, with chapters devoted to animal putrescence; malignant disease from one corpse; saturated soil of a graveyard disturbed; intra-mural internment in the United States; yellow fever; Asiatic cholera; pestilence (you knew he was going to get to that, eh?); rural cemeteries; coffins for the dead; and country graveyards. Dr. Wickes was the President of the Medical Society of New Jersey and rescued and preserved the Society’s early papers, as well as authoring several books on the history of medicine. Hardcover. 6.25”x9.5”, 156 pages plus a 48-page catalog of Blakiston books.

Wilcox, D.M. Gravestone Inscriptions, Lee, Mass. In Three Parts: 1773-1800; 1801-1825; 1826-1850. Lee; Press of the Berkshire Gleaner: 1910. If Lee isn't the westernmost town in Massachusetts then it's close... The first part of this series was issued around 1900 as part of a larger volume of records of the town of Lee (hence the confusing page numbering in part one). The second part was issued in 1901, the last in 1910. Hardcover. 6"x10", 22 pages plus 4 b/w plates; 36 pages plus 4 b/w plates; 95 pages with 21 b/w plates. Original parts bound into a single black cloth cover.

Willard, Joseph & David Tappan. An Address in Latin, by Joseph Willard, S.T.D., L.L.D. President; and a Discourse in English, by David Tappan, S.T.D., Hollis Professor of Divinity; delivered before the University in Cambridge, Feb 21, 1800, in solemn commemoration of General George Washington. Charlestown; Samuel Etheridge: 1800. These two addresses were part of the ceremonies at Harvard, which also included an address by Washington Allston (which was not allowed to be printed). Although a search of OCLC locates various Washington orations held around the Commonwealth that were printed by Etheridge, this title does not turn up. Disbound. 5"x8.5", 44 pages.

Williams, Melvin G. The Last Word. The Lure and Lore of Early New England Graveyards. Boston; Oldstone Enterprises:1973. A general book, but well written and with many interesting illustrations.Softcover. 6"x9", 39 pages, b&w illustrations.

Willsher, Betty & Doreen. Stones. A Guide to Some Remarkable Eighteenth Century (Scottish) Gravestones. New York; Taplinger Publishing Co.:1978. This is a fascinating study of some really distinctive gravestones. The authors approach their subject thematically: emblems of mortality; emblems of immortality; emblems of trade (stones mentioning or illustrating the trade of the deceased); and epitaphs. A wonderful book. Hardcover. 8.5"x9", 139 pages, 114 b&w illustrations, dj.

[Wilson, Henry] Four items from the Funeral Solemnities for Vice President Henry Wilson. Born Jeremiah Jones Colbath in Farmington, New Hampshire in 1812, Henry Wilon became an important abolitionist leader, a Senator, and Vice President of the United States. Early life was hard for Jeremiah- he came from a family so poor that his father named him after a rich neighbor in hopes of extracting money in return; from the ages 10 to 21 he was apprenticed to a farmer and never had more than a month of school a year. At the age of 21 he changed his name to Henry Wilson and traveled to Natick, Massachusetts where he became a shoemaker.
            An 1836 trip to Washington, D.C. aroused a fierce antipathy to slavery in Wilson, and he entered state politics as a Whig, winning election to both state House and Senate. When the Whigs proved too conservative he joined the radical Free Soil party, but the party collapsed. Something of a political opportunist, he then joined the "Know Nothings", and, in a complicated maneuver, got himself elected to the United States Senate as a Republican. Wilson never lost touch with the common man, never forgot his roots, and disdained the society of Boston Brahmins. He is said to have traveled tirelessly through Massachusetts and the other states, talking and listening to people. Paired in the Senate with his colleague Charles Sumner, Wilson worked hard for abolition, and became the Chairman of the powerful Senate Committee on Military Affairs during the Civil War.
            After the War he introduced the first civil rights legislation in the Senate and became extremely critical of President Johnson, supporting Johnson's impeachment. In 1868 he began to angle for the Vice Presidency, and although backroom maneuvering denied him the job in 1868, he got it in 1872. Unfortunately, just as he got the job during Ulysses Grant's second term, he suffered a stroke, from which he never really recovered. He died in the Capitol building on November 22nd, 1875. This interesting lot includes a black-bordered admission card to the "Solemnities" at the Massachusetts State House; the program for the Commemoration Services at the State House; an invitation to a "meeting of citizens" at Boston's Faneuil Hall to commemorate the Vice President, and a black-bordered program for the services held at Wilson's home in Natick.

Wise, Sarah. The Italian Boy. Murder and Grave-Robbery in 1830s London. London; Jonathan Cape: 2004. "Towards the end of 1831, the authorities unearthed a series of crimes at Number 3, Nova Scotia Gardens in East London that appeared to echo the notorious Burke and Hare killings in Edinburgh three years earlier. After a short investigation, three bodysnatchers were put on trial for supplying the anatomy schools of London with suspiciously fresh bodies for dissection. They later became known as The London Burkers, and their story was dubbed "The Italian Boy" case. The three were eventually convicted of the murder of a fourteen-year-old supposed immigrant, causing a citywide furor that led to legislation signaling the end of bodysnatching in Britain. Sarah Wise's history not only investigates the case but also vividly portrays the warrens of lower-class London in the 1830s". Hardcover. 6"x9.5", 347 pages, b/w illustrations, dj.

Woods, Leonard. A Sermon, preached at Haverhill (Mass.) in remembrance of Mrs. Harriet Newell, wife of Rev. Samuel Newell, missionary to India. Who died at the Isle of France, Nov. 30, 1812, aged 19 years. Boston; Samuel T. Armstrong: 1816. First published in 1814, with many subsequent editions. Newell and her husband spent the summer of 1819 in India, but returned in the fall. She delivered and lost a baby while at sea, and she died in France several weeks later. This work contains much interesting material from her diary and letters about life in India. Hardcover. 3"x5.5", 204 pages, portrait frontispiece.

Wust, Klaus. Folk Art in Stone. Southwest Virginia. Edinburg; Shenandoah History Publishers: 1970. A survey of Shenandoah Valley tombstones, cemeteries and cemetery sculpture. Softcover. 7.5"x10.5", 27 pages, b/w illustrations.

[Yale Funeral Satire] Burial of Euclid By the Class of '58. [New Haven: 1858] A clever send-up of Victorian funerals by the Yale Class of 1858 in the form of a program for the "Burial of Euclid". The ceremonies featured music and orations, songs ("If Euclid's cozy in his shroud - We'd like to hear him tell - Of where professors get their grog - In the region they call H-ades"), "Salutatory by D(arn-old Latin Prose", "Dirge at the Funeral Pyre -by Uno Hoo", and so on. The whole is set up in the manner of funeral programs of the time, complete with a chart of the procession with the Undertaker and Priest leading the "Car- case". Quite droll and period. Pamphlet. A single sheet, folded once to make a 6"x9" pamphlet; cover with decorative calligraphic-style decorations.

Zecchi, Giovanni. Collection des Monumens Sepulcraux Du Cimetiere de Bologne. (Bound with) Descrizione della Certosa di Bologna ora Cimitero Comunale Bologna. (Bologna?); S. Martino:1825-42. A lengthy (5 volumes) and seemingly comprehensive survey of tombs and memorial monuments in Bologna. The first work is an exhaustive survey of the monuments and memorials, with each plate illustrating a memorial and the facing page containing the complete inscription found on it. In keeping with Italian sentiments, most of the memorials are elaborately original, finely etailed and executed, many are visually emotional, and most very aesthetically effective. At the end of each volume each monument is fully described. The second title describes and illustrates the public cemetery with 8 views and a plan. 5 volumes bound in 4. 5.25"x8". The first work contains 172 full page engraved plates with facing descriptions of the inscriptions, plus about 200 pages of text describing the monuments; there are 5 additional plates illustrating allegorical scenes. The second work is bound at the start of Volume One and has a dramatic engraved allegorical frontispiece showing Father Time about to take out a Muse with a scythe, 49 + (2) pages of text plus 8 plates illustrating views of the cemetery and vaults, plus a large folding plan of the cemetery. .

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