Death in the Victorian Era part 10: Mourning Cards

Death in the Victorian Era part 10: Mourning Cards

A tradition that has stayed with us from the Victorian Era, although somewhat altered and modernised is the Mourning Card.

Traditionally, Mourning Cards were supplied by the Undertaker. The card was usually printed black and silver on a white background, but depending on the status of the person, they could become quite ornate, with some examples having inset photos.
 Most would feature traditional grief symbology crosses, a female mourner or one of the many other symbols that reminded the reader of death.

The card featured the name of the deceased, sometimes their birth date and details about the funeral. They were a standard size of around 3 by 4.5 inches.  On occasion, they might be sent out to those who could not attend the funeral, as a reminder of the person, and to remind the viewer to add the recently deceased to their prayers.

 

 As Mourning Cards became ever more popular, their appearance became more intricate, with some containing gold embossing, poems, prayers, artworks or photos of the deceased. Cards belonging to direct family members might’ve also contained a lock of the deceased’s hair or a button from their clothing. The card and the lock of hair would then be presented in the home in a special frame, or sometimes an elaborate mourning card stand

By the 1900s the cards had become much simpler, and with the modern advent of printing technology, today we see cards that feature photos, prayers, funeral details and so much more in high gloss print, but nothing we do today, comes close to the artistry of the Victorian Era Mourning Card.

Next Week: Death in the Victorian Era part 11: Sin Eaters

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Death in the Victorian Era part 6: 
The Graveyard Walker

 The Victorian Era's influence on Cemetery design is still felt in Australia today. Our cemeteries here are usually very large, ornate garden-style cemeteries. In South Australia, one only has to look at Centennial Park, Smithfield Memorial Park and West Terrace Cemetery to see the influence I am referring to.

 In South Australia’s early days, it was common for burials to happen in Church Graveyards, and it was the same in Victorian Era England, the only problem for the English in the last century was, that they had so many deaths, and so few areas set aside for the dead, that graveyards soon became overcrowded.

 Coffins could be stacked on top of each other in 20-foot-deep pits, with the top coffin only inches from the surface. Some graves would be dug up, the corpse dismembered, the coffin smashed for firewood to be sold to paupers, and the newly dead, buried in their place. Often the rotting bones and flesh would be sprawled about the cemetery, attracting dogs and rats and other scavengers.

An English Surgeon named George Walker took up residence in Drury Lane at the start of the Victorian Era, and it was through his campaigning that the English public came to realise their poor treatment of the dead, and the neglect of the cemeteries was contributing to their poor health and the spread of disease.

 Walker’s campaign gained ground in 1839 with the publishing of his “Gatherings in Graveyards” pamphlet which emphasised the problem of the gas emanating from the rotting corpses. The trapped cadaverous vapours would often cause coffins to explode, this was particularly bad for coffins in above-ground vaults, or ones exposed to the ground surface, spreading their foul stench and associated disease into the air.
 (It was common in the Victorian era for cemetery workers to drill holes in coffins to stop them from expanding and exploding).

 It was because of his influence that many of the Victorian Era graveyards were closed and new designs, based on the French Pere-la-Chaise Cemetery were adopted throughout England. These cemeteries would be built outside the larger cities and included long tree-lined avenues, ornate ironwork and ornate headstones.

 They were a park and memorial place all in one, Walker’s influence back then can probably be attributed to our own Australian garden cemeteries today.

NEXT WEEK: Death in the Victorian Era part 7: Cemetery Design and Symbolism

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