Undertaker's Trade Card, 1745

Undertaker's trade card from 1745 labeled "The sign of the Naked Boy and Coffin."

Text reads: "At ye lower Corner of Fleet Lane at ye Signe of ye Naked Boy & Coffin you may be Accommodated wth all things for a Funeral as well ye meanest as those of greater Ability upon Reasonable Terms more particularly Coffins Shrouds Palls Cloaks Sconces Stans Hangings for Rooms Heraldry Hearse & Coaches Gloves wth all other things not here mentioned by Wm.Grinly Coffin Maker."

Sourced here.

Amazing Auction Alert #583: "The Rouchomovsky Skeleton’: A Russian Gold Fully Articulated Skeleton In Silver-Gilt Sarcophagus," 1901

The fully articulated human skeleton in a velvet-lined coffin chased around on each side with three panels showing the course of life, one end with attributes of the arts, the other with attributes of war,  the removable cover with the journey in the footsteps of the Angel of Death, surrounded by the faces of infants alternately laughing and crying...

This fantastic piece is up for sale as Lot 291 in Sotheby's "A Treasured Legacy: The Michael and Judy Steinhardt Judaica Collection"auction coming up on April 29, 2013. Who would like to purchase it for The Morbid Anatomy Library?

The Rouchomovsky Skeleton’:  A Russian Gold Articulated Skeleton In Silver-Gilt SarcophagusEstimate: 150,000 - 250,000 USD

The fully articulated human skeleton in a velvet-lined coffin chased around on each side with three panels showing the course of life, one end with attributes of the arts, the other with attributes of war,  the removable cover with the journey in the footsteps of the Angel of Death, surrounded by the faces of infants alternately laughing and crying.
Skeleton signed in Cyrillic, on the right splint-bone: Mozyr [18]92 Odessa [18]96 and on the left splint-bone Rouchomovsky.

Sarcophagus signed on lid: Israel Rouchomovsky and in Cyrillic on base Israel Rouchomovsky Odessa 1901.
length of skeleton 3 1/2 in., length of coffin 4 3/8 in.
9 cm; 11.2 cm
the skeleton 1892-1896, the sarcophagus 1896-1906
Israel Rouchomovsky, Mozyr and Odessa

Catalogue Note

The Skeleton
Israel Rouchomovsky (1860-1934) came from a poor family in Mozyr, Belarus. Almost three-quarters of the population of the town was Jewish, and according to some accounts his parents wanted him to become a rabbi.[i] His memoirs describe how he was drawn to silversmithing, and the efforts required to get a work permit and move with his family to Odessa, where he arrived in 1892. They also recount how he helped a colleague make a first gold skeleton, now held in the Museum of Historical Treasures of the Ukraine.[ii]  He had thought this first skeleton would require a month of work, when in fact it took four, and he thought he could do even better; only certain sections of the first skeleton could move. The inscription on the leg shows that the fully articulated skeleton – supposedly with 167 different parts[iii] – required five years of work.

In his own words:"In the second piece, with the help of minute ball-bearings, all body members can move in all directions, and even the lower jaw can be opened and closed. This time I was entirely satisfied and I could say without any humbleness that I succeeded, I really succeeded, and it was at that point that I realized that this "deceased" deserved a beautiful sarcophagus."[iv]

It would be another five years to make the case, finished in Odessa in 1901. Again in Rouchomovsky's own words: "The sarcophagus is cut in massive silver and is covered entirely with ornaments and miniature figures [which he describes in minute detail]." Of the whole project, almost a decade of careful craftsmanship, the artist wrote, "although the work has taken very long, I can say that it is one of my best works, and I have always remained more than content with it, not only with its execution, but also with its underlying conception."...

You can find out more--and put a bid!--by clicking here.

Thanks so much to friend and excellent artist Martin Bland for bringing this wonderful piece to my attention! Click on image to see larger, more detailed images.

"Permit Bearer to Go to Hell and Return Unharmed": Coney Island Ticket Stub or Souvenir for Darkness and Dawn Cosmorama, Early 20th Century?

Seller's Description:
This is a souvenir of a visit to a Coney Island Bowery amusement called Darkness and Dawn. It was a Cyclorama, and had been created for an exposition in Omaha, Nebraska in 1898. It was brought to the Coney Island Bowery at the turn of the century. The souvenir is card stock, in the shape of a coffin, and has a skull and crossbones illustration at top. It also has a quote from "The Devil." The same image and text is printed on both sides (shown). The attraction on the Bowery was destroyed by fire in 1903, and was rebuilt for Luna Park several years later.

Via the wonderful Anonymous Works blog.

Wax Model of a Decomposing Body in a Walnut Coffin, Italy, 1774-1800, The Science Museum, London

Wax model of a decomposing body in a walnut coffin, Italy, 1774-1800

The body in this wooden coffin is in a severe state of decomposition. It may have had two purposes: as ‘memento mori’, a reminder of death, or as a teaching aid. The figure is surrounded by three frogs. Frogs are symbols of rebirth and regeneration because they change so much in their lifetimes. Wax modelling was used in Europe to create religious effigies. From the 1600s, they were also used to teach anatomy. The creation of wax anatomical models, centred in Italy, was based on observing real corpses. The museum known as La Specola, or ‘the observatory’, in Florence was famous for its wax collection.

Found in the always delightful Macabre and Beautifully Grotesque Facebook Group.

"The Great Sarah Bernhardt Asleep in Her Coffin," Silver gelatin print, circa 1882

The Great Sarah Bernhardt Asleep in Her Coffin, Silver gelatin print, circa 1882

This iconoclastic Frenchwoman was arguably the most famous actress of the 19th century. She went on to become a film star in the early 20th century. In the 1880s, Bernhardt (1844-1923) made her own funeral arrangements. She picked out her own coffin because she was going to “sleep” in it forever. She had it delivered to her home and regularly slept in it. In her 1907 autobiography she wrote, “My bedroom was very tiny. The big bamboo bed took up all the room. In front of the window was my coffin, where I frequently installed myself to learn my lines.”

Bernhardt has this photograph taken in the classic postmortem style of the early 1880s. Though she was 78 years old when she died, this photograph depicts her in a death pose while she was still young and beautiful. Thus, this ersatz postmortem photo is the image many associate with her death.

From Sleeping Beauty II - Grief, Bereavement and the Family in Memorial Photography by Stanley B. Burns, M.D.

Quote and image via Liquid Night Tumbr found via Wisdom and Life Tumblr (my apologies for the earlier mis-credit). You can find out more about the excellent book from which it was drawn--Sleeping Beauty II - Grief, Bereavement and the Family in Memorial Photography by Stanley B. Burns, M.D.--by clicking here.

Coffin Menu, 1907

Great coffin-styled menu, via the New York Public Digital Library website. The menu is part of the vast "Ms. Frank E. Buttolph Collection of Menus" and its caption reads: "First annual convention banquet held by Theta Nu Epsilon [a chapter of Skull and Bones] at Hotel Astor, New York, New York." The notes elaborate: "Wines listed; Menu in French; Toasts listed; Lyrics to drinking song on back."