weekend event....business of death...

[misstia]

i first learned of this place and a similar business while reading one of my many books about Queen Victoria, one dealing with her lifelong love of mourning....there was quite an industry for mourning in the mid-1800s for about 30 years...specific rules on colors to be worn--even in regards to jewelry, mourning decorations for home, carriages, and mourning for all economic classes....fascinating actually....well, i found it fascinating.....

Comments

[memnet.livejournal.com]

Yes, it is fascinating; unfortunate name though...mourning warehouse. In my mind it conjured up a vision of neatly stacked mourner mannequins to be purchased for use at a funeral in the event of the death of someone unpopular. ;)

Ya know I think I just scared myself with that image. :D Very Twilight Zone like.

[bradygirl_12]

I remember when I first saw Gone With The Wind as a child and was struck by the fact that Scarlett, Melanie and all the female relatives had to wear black because of a male relative's death for quite a long time, especially Scarlett as his widow. She couldn't go to parties or call on people or do anything, really. She was only out in public because of the war effort fund-raising bazaar. Rhett said it was a pretty barbaric custom, shutting women away in perpetual mourning.

I read a series of novels set in Victorian times that described the black wreaths on the doors, the drapes shut all through the house, even the practice of muffling their horses' hooves with cloth so they wouldn't make a sound on the cobblestones.

Mark Twain parodied the death industry very well in Huckleberry Finn.

[pronker]

It is fascinating, I agree. There were onyx mourning brooches, and hair from the deceased made into twisted designs which one framed for hanging on the wall ... I'm unsure if they made use of crematory urns so that one could bring the cremains home with one, though ...

[branwynn.livejournal.com]

I find it fascinating as well. There used to be etiquette, even when I was little (born in the late '60's)

The last funeral I went to looked like a stripper convention! LOL The under 30-crowd obviously were hitting happy hour after the cemetery.