Uncommon Wealth of Kentucky

Americans have frequently used photographs and ephemera as part of their expressions of grief after the death of a family member, fraternal organization member, community member, or elected official. Funeral invitations and memorial cards were popular in the United States from mid-19th to early-20th centuries. Often when photographers were available, postmortems of the deceased, the deceased with family, the deceased with funeral attendees, burial sites, monuments, monuments with mourners, memorial flowers, and later family groups with portraits of deceased members provided lasting memorial tributes. Funeral home invoices and casket invoices provide relevant primary sources. Monument makers catalogs, invoices and mailings also provide evidence of the availability of professional tombstone craftsmen and companies.