{"id":18817,"date":"2025-10-08T07:00:39","date_gmt":"2025-10-08T07:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/library.udel.edu\/news\/?p=18817"},"modified":"2025-10-07T17:15:36","modified_gmt":"2025-10-07T17:15:36","slug":"grave-matters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/library.udel.edu\/news\/2025\/10\/08\/grave-matters\/","title":{"rendered":"Grave Matters: Funerary Supplies in Trade Catalogs"},"content":{"rendered":"

By David Cardillo, Digital Collections and Preservation<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

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As Halloween approaches, thoughts often turn to the eerie, the unusual and the history of how we honor the departed. Our <\/span>Trade Catalog Collection on AM Quartex<\/span><\/a> holds a surprisingly rich\u2014and seasonally appropriate\u2014selection of catalogs for funerary supplies, including caskets, coffin hardware, burial robes and even hearses.<\/span><\/p>\n

Today, most of us picture a funeral home showroom lined with polished caskets and urns. But in rural, pre-industrial America, that wasn\u2019t the case. Instead of walking through a display room, families often made deeply personal selections for their loved ones directly from catalogs.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

One example of this is the <\/span>Ninth Annual Illustrated Catalogue<\/span><\/em> (Cincinnati Coffin Company, 1880)<\/span><\/a>, which features an array of ornate coffins available for order.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Ninth Annual Illustrated Catalog, 1880, page 3<\/p><\/div>\n

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These catalogs not only featured coffins and urns, but offered everything needed for a proper funeral, from a horse-drawn hearse cab to burial garments. Even coffin hardware could be customized\u2014right down to the handles and trimmings.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Ninth Annual Illustrated Catalog, 1880, page 11<\/p><\/div>\n

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Burial robes and such were also available.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\"Ninth<\/a>

Ninth Annual Illustrated Catalog, 1880, pages 16-17<\/p><\/div>\n

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Ninth Annual Illustrated Catalog, 1880, pages 16-17<\/p><\/div>\n

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Even the hardware for the coffin was highly customizable.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Ninth Annual Illustrated Catalog, 1880, page 20<\/p><\/div>\n

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Ninth Annual Illustrated Catalog, 1880, page 45<\/p><\/div>\n

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There were several companies who produced items and published catalogs for funerary items. Examples include:<\/span><\/p>\n