Hey kids! How 'bout some coffin patents to look at? 'Tis the season for a morbid peek at these marvelous "rest in peace" box designs from 1848 to 1914. (Click on images for a closer look.)
(Patent images come from Google Patents with backgrounds....by me!)
#5 looks like a Pool table.Would look great in a Goth bachelor pad.#9 is just plain wrong,(Sit In Peace?Really?)although the inventor probably argued it would use up less space and make for less crowded cemetaries.As for #7,I want to crack wise about it,but I can't.Accidentally burying living people was a very common thing back then.I just couldn't see the average person being able to afford this luxury(That hopefully wouldn't actually be used.
ReplyDeleteThe seventh picture (date 12/22/1891)seems to be illustrating the option to pull a chord if you wake up underground. I believe this is where the term "dead ringer" originated. That was a real option back then as they didn't have all the answer to conditions that caused a person to be in a coma, but knew some did revive. They tied a string around the hand of the supposed dead and attached it to a bell on a post above ground.
ReplyDeleteBetty