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My hubby and I just got back from the National Museum of Funeral History, and I have tons of pics of antique hearses (horse drawn and autos), coffins and other goodies!
National Museum of Funeral History
Fun Trivia:
Black hearses were used for adults and white for children. Black horses were typically used for MALE corpses. Children or women were generally white horses. The white horses cost more to rent, as they were harder to come by.
Cast iron caskets were very popular around Civil War times - as they were air tight and kept the bodies "fresher" than wooden ones.
The term "basket case" was from this time period. Woven baskets were used to hold the bodies (what they could find) of the dead. To be a basket case was to be a total mess... and that's sort of what the term now means.
President Lincoln was instrumental in furthering embalming during the Civil War - so as to ensure as many soldiers as possible made it back home to have a decent burial.
It was fascinatingly creepy! I'm not going to overload this with all the pics, so here are some of the highlights:
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1900 child's horse-drawn hearse.
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1951 Cadillac Hearse
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1936 Buick S&S Hearse - unusual for it's light/dark green paint job
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1973 Mercedes Hearse - Princess Grace's funeral hearse
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1800s Hand-carved horse drawn hearse
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Custom coffin for 3 - Ordered in the early 1900s by a husband and wife. They were heartbroken over the death of their only child, and decided to have the husband kill the wife and then he would commit suicide, and they wanted their child dug up and re-buried with them in one big casket. (Now days, if a couple came in someplace and said this, they'd lock them in the loony bin, but the funeral home BUILT THE COFFIN FOR THEM). They never picked it up, and MANY years later, the wife called the funeral home and asked for a refund - but as the funeral home had changed hands so many times that no one had proof of payment, they told her that she'd have to provide proof. They never heard back, and later donated the casket to the museum.
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Embalming setup for the early 1900s.
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Replica of the coffin type used for the Clantons after the infamous shootout at the O K Corral. The top has a wood veneer slide to reveal a window box for viewing the corpse.
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A display model glass/brass coffin for Snow White - built for a funeral convention... Um, really guys, I want to be buried in a Disney nightmare!
For anyone that wants more detail on the horse drawn hearses, or to see more, let me know as I did take some detail shots of things like the carving and lanterns and there were lots more hearses and coffins and such.
Hubby and I had a blast!
National Museum of Funeral History
Fun Trivia:
Black hearses were used for adults and white for children. Black horses were typically used for MALE corpses. Children or women were generally white horses. The white horses cost more to rent, as they were harder to come by.
Cast iron caskets were very popular around Civil War times - as they were air tight and kept the bodies "fresher" than wooden ones.
The term "basket case" was from this time period. Woven baskets were used to hold the bodies (what they could find) of the dead. To be a basket case was to be a total mess... and that's sort of what the term now means.
President Lincoln was instrumental in furthering embalming during the Civil War - so as to ensure as many soldiers as possible made it back home to have a decent burial.
It was fascinatingly creepy! I'm not going to overload this with all the pics, so here are some of the highlights:
1900 child's horse-drawn hearse.
1951 Cadillac Hearse
1936 Buick S&S Hearse - unusual for it's light/dark green paint job
1973 Mercedes Hearse - Princess Grace's funeral hearse
1800s Hand-carved horse drawn hearse
Custom coffin for 3 - Ordered in the early 1900s by a husband and wife. They were heartbroken over the death of their only child, and decided to have the husband kill the wife and then he would commit suicide, and they wanted their child dug up and re-buried with them in one big casket. (Now days, if a couple came in someplace and said this, they'd lock them in the loony bin, but the funeral home BUILT THE COFFIN FOR THEM). They never picked it up, and MANY years later, the wife called the funeral home and asked for a refund - but as the funeral home had changed hands so many times that no one had proof of payment, they told her that she'd have to provide proof. They never heard back, and later donated the casket to the museum.
Embalming setup for the early 1900s.
Replica of the coffin type used for the Clantons after the infamous shootout at the O K Corral. The top has a wood veneer slide to reveal a window box for viewing the corpse.
A display model glass/brass coffin for Snow White - built for a funeral convention... Um, really guys, I want to be buried in a Disney nightmare!
For anyone that wants more detail on the horse drawn hearses, or to see more, let me know as I did take some detail shots of things like the carving and lanterns and there were lots more hearses and coffins and such.
Hubby and I had a blast!
