Category Archives: Symbolism

Victorian Funerary Symbolism

Posted on August 3, 2018 by gravelyspeaking

John Baptiste Ford (November 11, 1811 – May 1, 1903) was born in Danville, Kentucky, and made his fortune as an industrialist producing various products including iron, steamboats, and eventually glass. Ford is buried in the Allegheny Cemetery in Pittsburgh, … Continue reading →

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The Sleeping Babe

Posted on July 1, 2018 by gravelyspeaking

RITA SCALANTE Oct. 12, 1898 Nov. 28, 1910 This white-marble monument in the St. Francis Cemetery at Phoenix, Arizona, memorializes the life of an infant girl who died shortly after her second birthday.  A drapery on the top of the … Continue reading →

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The Stag

Posted on June 19, 2018 by gravelyspeaking

The white marble gravestone in the Oakland Cemetery in Sandusky, Ohio, of Julius Wagner (born August 19, 1823 – died August 20, 1876) features a horn hanging from stag horns.  The stag horns symbolize piety and solitude and victory over … Continue reading →

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Neo-Classical Sarcophagus

Posted on June 13, 2018 by gravelyspeaking

Stanford White and Augustus Saint Gaudens collaborated on the pink granite Francis W. Tracy monument in the Forest Lawn Cemetery in Buffalo, New York.  It is clear that White took his inspiration from an ancient classical design replicated in many … Continue reading →

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Seated Angels

Posted on June 10, 2018 by gravelyspeaking

Not far inside the Gothic gates of the Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York, is the David and Adelia Stewart mausoleum.  The mausoleum was designed by Stanford White, of McKim, Mead and White, at one time, the largest and most … Continue reading →

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Angel of Charity

Posted on June 6, 2018 by gravelyspeaking

JOHN HUDSON HALL BORN OCTOBER XV, M-D-C-C-C-XXXVIII DIED MARCH III, M-D-CCC-LXXXXI John Hudson Hall (October 15, 1828-March 3, 1891) was a successful paper manufacturer in the mid-to-late 19th Century.  He was also a patron of the arts.  Augustus Saint-Gaudens, the … Continue reading →

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The Pitcher

Posted on May 29, 2018 by gravelyspeaking

Colma, California was established as a necropolis.  That is, the reason that Colma was created was to “house” the dead from San Francisco.  With the exception of the military cemetery at the Presidio, and a churchyard or two, all of … Continue reading →

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The Rooster

Posted on May 26, 2018 by gravelyspeaking

  The mosaic rooster on the columbarium in the St. Francis Cemetery in Phoenix, Arizona, and the rooster at the St. Bernard’s Cemetery, in Rockport, Indiana, represent awakening.  One can also imagine how the rooster crowing at the first rays … Continue reading →

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The Circle and the Hourglass

Posted on May 23, 2018 by gravelyspeaking

In memory of Mrs. Mary Baxter Widow of Gregory Baxter Who died Nov. 11, 1789 In the 88th, year Of her age. Mary Baxter’s dark gray slate tombstone in the Hancock Cemetery in Quincy, Massachusetts, portrays a woman, presumably Mary, … Continue reading →

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Praying Hands

Posted on April 25, 2018 by gravelyspeaking

Praying hands, which can be found as incised carvings on gravestones or as statues that form a centerpiece in gardens within cemeteries, are a symbol of pious devotion.  Praying hands also symbolize the hope for an eternal life.

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