The Victorian Undertaker

Description

It was during the Victorian Era that the ritual of death became increasingly sophisticated, and this period saw the development of the modern cemetery, morticians and public funeral complete with floral arrangements and the hearse for transportation of the deceased. The “Undertaker” of the Victorian Era was the forerunner of today’s funeral director. Many of the traditions that are observed in our funeral process today came to be from superstitions of the 1800s.

Steve Person, a retired funeral director, will give a presentation at the Irvin L. Young Memorial Library about the funeral and mourning customs of the Victorian era, along with his collection of mortuary and embalming equipment and instruments of the era.