Death at the Edge of Empire and Beyond: The Divergent Histories of Coffin Furniture and Coffin Hardware
Author(s): Hilda E. Maclean; Megan E. Springate
Year: 2013
Summary
The coffin was the centerpiece of the Victorian-era funeral and the most expensive material purchase made by the family or friends of the deceased. As with all events played out in public, the coffin was subject to the dictates of fashion. Beginning with the origins of mass-produced coffin furniture in eighteenth century England, this paper explores two divergent histories of coffin decoration through the Victorian era. An analysis of materials recovered from Brisbane, Australia looks at sourcing and trends in the use of coffin furniture at the edges of the British Commonwealth, while artifacts and catalogs are used to present the different direction of the American coffin hardware industry. Coffin furnishings from Canada, neighbour to America and part of the British Commonwealth, are also mentioned.
Cite this Record
Death at the Edge of Empire and Beyond: The Divergent Histories of Coffin Furniture and Coffin Hardware. Hilda E. Maclean, Megan E. Springate. Presented at Society for Historical Archaeology, Leicester, England, U.K. 2013 ( tDAR id: 428681)
This Resource is Part of the Following Collections
Keywords
General
coffin furniture
•
Coffin Hardware
•
funerals
Temporal Keywords
Nineteenth Century
Spatial Coverage
min long: 112.952; min lat: -43.648 ; max long: 153.606; max lat: -10.71 ;
Individual & Institutional Roles
Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology
Record Identifiers
PaperId(s): 348