Monumental Mass Marketing: How the Vermont Marble Company Standardized Memorials in Early 20Th Century America
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons Theses (Historic Preservation) Graduate Program in Historic Preservation 1-2021 Monumental mass marketing: how the Vermont Marble Company standardized memorials in early 20th century America Renata Lisowski Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/hp_theses Part of the Historic Preservation and Conservation Commons Lisowski, Renata, "Monumental mass marketing: how the Vermont Marble Company standardized memorials in early 20th century America" (2021). Theses (Historic Preservation). 705. https://repository.upenn.edu/hp_theses/705 This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/hp_theses/705 For more information, please contact [email protected]. Monumental mass marketing: how the Vermont Marble Company standardized memorials in early 20th century America Abstract At the turn of the 20th century, the Vermont Marble Company was the largest producer of marble goods in the United States and a critical force in the standardization and diffusion of gravestones across the country. The Vermont Marble Company utilized new modes of mass production, established a national distribution network, and embraced the use of catalogs to sell their products. This thesis examines a set of gravestone catalogs printed in 1916 and used by the Vermont Marble Company’s sales representatives in Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, St. Louis, and San Francisco. The catalogs contain hundreds of images of gravestones sold by the company and capture a transitional moment of funerary traditions in the United States from elaborate 19th century mourning culture to modern standardized memorials. This thesis shows through statistical analysis of the catalogs that the Vermont Marble Company had a regionally distinctive approach to distribution of their gravestone designs, and it interprets the findings through a website and lesson plans that engage students with archival material, secondary sources, and historical artifacts. Keywords cemetery, consumerism, mass productions, digitial pedagogy, geography Disciplines Historic Preservation and Conservation This thesis or dissertation is available at ScholarlyCommons: https://repository.upenn.edu/hp_theses/705 MONUMENTAL MASS MARKETING: HOW THE VERMONT MARBLE COMPANY STANDARDIZED MEMORIALS IN EARLY 20TH CENTURY AMERICA Renata Lisowski A THESIS in Historic Preservation Presented to the Faculties of the University of Pennsylvania in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE IN HISTORIC PRESERVATION 2020 ________________ Advisor Aaron Wunsch Associate Professor ________________ Program Chair Frank Matero Professor In memory of Paul James Lisowski (1950-2019) & Francis Whalen Connelly (1988-2020) ii For rain it hath a friendly sound To one who’s six feet underground; And scarce the friendly voice or face, A grave is such a quiet place. --- Edna St. Vincent Millay, “Renascence” iii I would like to acknowledge the importance of destigmatizing mental illness and promoting mental health care in academia. While completing this thesis, I suffered incalculable losses. But for the ceaseless encouragement of my professors, exceptional care of my doctors, and enduring support of my friends and family, the following pages would have been forever blank. iv Table of Contents Dedication.………………………………………………………………………………ii Epigraph………………………………………………………………………………..iii Acknowledgements…………………………………………………………………..iv List of Figures…………………………………………………………………………vi List of Tables…………………………………………………………………………..ix Introduction……………………………………………………………………………..1 Chapter 1: Literature Review………………………………………………………...5 Vermont Marble Company……………………………………………………..5 Monumental Memorials………………………………………………………...9 Early 20th Century America…………………………………………………...13 Chapter 2: Data Set…………………………………………………………………..18 Glossary………………………………………………………………………...18 Methodology……………………………………………………………………19 Findings…………………………………………………………………………20 Analysis…………………………………………………………………………23 Chapter 3: Interpretation……………………………………………………………29 Overview………………………………………………………………………..29 Lesson A………………………………………………………………………..30 Lesson B………………………………………………………………………..32 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………….35 Bibliography…………………………………………………………………………..37 Appendix A: Student Worksheets…………………………………………………41 Appendix B: “Monumental Mass Marketing” Site Map………………………..43 Appendix C: Visual Glossary………………………………………………………44 Appendix D: Tables………………………………………………………………….72 Index……………………………………………………………………………………81 v List of Figures Figure 1.1: Railroads of the United States 1916……………………………..……..8 Albert Perry Brigham & Charles T. McFarlane, Essentials of Geography (New York, NY: American Book Company, 1916) 52. Figure 1.2: Percent increase in urban population, by states: 1900-1910……….14 The United States Census of Population and Housing, 1910, Volume 1, Bureau of the Census (Washington, DC, 1910), 88. Figure 1.3: Population increase in cities with handbooks………………………...14 The United States Census of Population and Housing, 1910, Volume 1, Bureau of the Census (Washington, DC, 1910). Figure 1.4: Deaths in the United States, 1900-1920………………………………15 Centers for Disease Control, “Leading Causes of Death, 1900-1998,” U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Figure 1.5: Leading Cause of Death in the United States, 1910………………...16 Centers for Disease Control, “Leading Causes of Death, 1900-1998,” U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Figure 2.1: Model availability by city………………………………………………..22 Vermont Marble Company. Vermont Marble Company’s Designs (Proctor, VT: Vermont Marble Company, 1916). Figure 2.2: Prevalence of model type by city……………………………………....23 Vermont Marble Company. Vermont Marble Company’s Designs (Proctor, VT: Vermont Marble Company, 1916). Figure 2.3: Prevalence of symbols by city………………………………………….25 Vermont Marble Company. Vermont Marble Company’s Designs (Proctor, VT: Vermont Marble Company, 1916). Figure A.C.1: Models 146, 147, 149 – Steps………………………………………43 Image courtesy of The Architectural Archives, University of Pennsylvania. Figure A.C.2: Model 151 – Seat…………………………………………………….44 Image courtesy of The Architectural Archives, University of Pennsylvania. Figure A.C.3: Model 1201 – Architectural………………………………………….45 Image courtesy of The Architectural Archives, University of Pennsylvania. vi Figure A.C.4: Model 1256 – Soldier………………………………………………...46 Image courtesy of The Architectural Archives, University of Pennsylvania. Figure A.C.5: Model 2163 – Lamb………………………………………………….47 Image courtesy of The Architectural Archives, University of Pennsylvania. Figure A.C.6: Model 3251 – Ball…………………………………………………….48 Image courtesy of The Architectural Archives, University of Pennsylvania. Figure A.C.7: Model 3583 – “In my father’s house are many mansions” …….49 Image courtesy of The Architectural Archives, University of Pennsylvania. Figure A.C.8: Model 3592 – Urn…………………………………………………….50 Image courtesy of The Architectural Archives, University of Pennsylvania. Figure A.C.9: Model 3599 – Star of David……………………………………...….51 Image courtesy of The Architectural Archives, University of Pennsylvania. Figure A.C.10: Model 3610 – Cross……………………………………………...…52 Image courtesy of The Architectural Archives, University of Pennsylvania. Figure A.C.11: Model 3624 – Fortuna Cormand………………………………..…53 Image courtesy of The Architectural Archives, University of Pennsylvania. Figure A.C.12: Model: 3864 – Spire……………………………………………..….54 Image courtesy of The Architectural Archives, University of Pennsylvania. Figure A.C.13: Model 3909 – Stump………………………………………………..55 Image courtesy of The Architectural Archives, University of Pennsylvania. Figure A.C.14: Model 4123 – Rose…………………………………………………56 Image courtesy of The Architectural Archives, University of Pennsylvania. Figure A.C.15: Model 4267 – Decalogue…………………………………………..57 Image courtesy of The Architectural Archives, University of Pennsylvania. Figure A.C.16: Model 4268 – Roll……………………………………………..……58 Image courtesy of The Architectural Archives, University of Pennsylvania. Figure A.C.17: Models 4647, 4648, 4649 – Die…………………………………...59 Image courtesy of The Architectural Archives, University of Pennsylvania. Figure A.C.18: Model 4397 – Anchor………………………………………….……60 Image courtesy of The Architectural Archives, University of Pennsylvania. vii Figure A.C.19: Model 4466 – Gate……………………………………………..…..61 Image courtesy of The Architectural Archives, University of Pennsylvania. Figure A.C.20: Model 4540 – Bed……………………………………………..……62 Image courtesy of The Architectural Archives, University of Pennsylvania. Figure A.C.21: Model 4542 – “Children of God”……………………………….….63 Image courtesy of The Architectural Archives, University of Pennsylvania. Figure A.C.22: Model 4606 – Cherub…………………………………………...….64 Image courtesy of The Architectural Archives, University of Pennsylvania. Figure A.C.23: Model 4627 – “Rock of Ages”………………………………….…..65 Image courtesy of The Architectural Archives, University of Pennsylvania. Figure A.C.24: Model 4695 – A-H, J-M…………………………………………….66 Image courtesy of The Architectural Archives, University of Pennsylvania. Figure A.C.25: Model 4838 – Foliage…………………………………………..…..67 Image courtesy of The Architectural Archives, University of Pennsylvania. Figure A.C.26: Model 4901 – Rusticated……………………………………..……68 Image courtesy of The Architectural Archives, University of Pennsylvania. Figure A.C.27: Model 4909 – Shaking hands………………………………….…..69 Image courtesy of The Architectural Archives, University of Pennsylvania. Figure A.C.28: Model 5014 – Egyptian