Floral Ornament Gravestone of Annie French

French1.jpg

Dublin Core

Title

Floral Ornament Gravestone of Annie French

Subject

Inscription:
Capt. J. French
Dec. 26, 1800,
Mar. 25, 1883

Annie
wife of
Capt. J. French
Dec. 31, 1898

Description

This unique gravestone was designed by Annie French and patented November 16, 1875 (U.S. Pat. No. 169,898).  The patent describes: "Fadeless Ornaments...flowers, fruits, or leaves which shall be fadeless, and which may be used to form ornamental wreaths for the decoration of monuments or tombstones, and which shall be practically imperishable from exposure to the weather."

The stone provides a recess, marble backed “shadow box” fitted with a piece of glass that protects an ornate, hand-beaded wreath made in the style of the popular hair wreaths of the time, which were themselves, mourning pieces.

Captain Jeremiah French captained the clipper bark James W. Paige around Cape Horn to San Francisco in 1852, a journey chronicled by J. Lamson in the book: Round Cape Horn:  voyage of the passenger-ship James W. Paige, from Maine to California in the year 1852.

Creator

Annie French

Source

Patent No. 169,898, dated November 16, 1875; application filed November 2, 1874.

Publisher

[no text]

Date

Stone: ca. 1883
Photograph: 2012

Contributor

Kimberly J. Sawtelle

Rights

© 2012 Kimberly J. Sawtelle. All rights reserved.

Relation

[no text]

Format

Granite, marble, and glass

Language

English

Type

[no text]

Identifier

[no text]

Coverage

[no text]