Forest Home Cemetery, Forest Park, Illinois

The Monumental Bronze Company of Bridgeport, Connecticut, produced cast zinc cemetery markers billed as “white bronze” beginning in the 1870s. The markers are distinguishable by their bluish-gray tint.

These grave markers came in a wide assortment of sizes and shapes and were somewhat like grave marker erector sets. The more elaborate markers had a shell of sorts and then various panels could be attached according to the tastes of the family ordering the grave marker. In this way, each marker could be “customized” to the tastes of the individual.

The Monumental Bronze Company of Bridgeport, Connecticut, set up their first subsidiary in Detroit, Michigan. Others followed in Philadelphia, New Orleans, St. Thomas, Ontario, Des Moines, and Chicago. The Chicago subsidiary was named the American Bronze Company.

Contrary to popular belief, the markers were not carried in the Sears Roebuck catalog. They were sold by enterprising salesmen who carried a catalog with them to show customers the many styles and price ranges of their product line. In many cemeteries you can find evidence of highly successful salesmen who sold a large number of the markers.

The Horseman monument was featured in an American Bronze Company catalog, the page is below.  Throughout the catalog various monuments were highlighted.

An American Bronze Monument catalog page picturing the Horesman Monument in the Forest Home Cemetery at Forest Park, Illinois