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Stories in Stone: A Field Guide to Cemetery Symbolism and Iconography
Stories in Stone provides history along with images of a wide variety of common and not-so-common cemetery symbols, and offers an in-depth examination of stone relics and the personal and intimate details they display-flora and fauna, religious icons, society symbols, and final impressions of how the deceased wished to be remembered. Douglas Keister has created a practical field guide that is compact and portable, perfect for those interested in family histories and genealogical research, and is the only book of its kind that unlocks the language of symbols in a comprehensive and easy-to-understand manner.
Douglas Keister has photographed fourteen award-winning, critically acclaimed books (including Red Tile Style: America's Spanish Revival Architecture, The Bungalow: America's Arts & Crafts Home, and Storybook Style: America's Whimsical Homes of the Twenties) earning him the title "America's most noted photographer of historic architecture." He also writes and illustrates magazine articles and contributes photographs and essays to other books, calendars, posters, and greeting cards. Doug lives in Chico, California, and travels frequently to photograph and lecture on historic architecture and photography.
Douglas Keister has photographed fourteen award-winning, critically acclaimed books (including Red Tile Style: America's Spanish Revival Architecture, The Bungalow: America's Arts & Crafts Home, and Storybook Style: America's Whimsical Homes of the Twenties) earning him the title "America's most noted photographer of historic architecture." He also writes and illustrates magazine articles and contributes photographs and essays to other books, calendars, posters, and greeting cards. Doug lives in Chico, California, and travels frequently to photograph and lecture on historic architecture and photography.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2004
About the author
Douglas Keister
56 books15 followersPhotographer-writer Douglas Keister, has authored and co-authored thirty-six critically acclaimed books. He also writes and illustrates magazine articles and contributes photographs and essays to dozens of magazines, newspapers, books, calendars, posters and greeting cards worldwide.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 96 reviews
January 29, 2023
I thought this was a great, well organized, and informative pocket guide. I have visited tons of cemeteries in North and South Carolina, Civil War memorials, and several cemeteries when I was stationed in Germany. This book was really helpful in identifying the various symbols, statues, architectural designs, and iconography found especially in older cemeteries. This was loaded with entries, explanations, color pictures, and locations of several large cemeteries throughout North America and western Europe.
My most recent cemetery visit was the Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum in Dayton, Ohio last fall. The fall colors and changing tress laid over 200 acres of quiet cemetery was an experience. The cemetery was built in 1841 and contained tons of features I found in this book.
In 2021 I was stationed at Ramstein Air Force Base and in the neighboring city, Kaiserslautern, there was a huge cemetery and war memorial, Hauptfreidhof Kaiserslautern. One of the only religious symbols I have seen from this book in real-life was the Cohanim Hands (pg 157) I found in the old Jewish section.
There I found a memorial dedicated to German soldiers from the area killed in WWI and WW2, a small Orthodox section for killed Russian POWs from WW2, and marked graves dedicated to children killed during Allied Bombing in WW2.
Overall I would highly recommend this pocket guide if you are into visiting cemeteries and memorial gardens. Thanks!
My most recent cemetery visit was the Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum in Dayton, Ohio last fall. The fall colors and changing tress laid over 200 acres of quiet cemetery was an experience. The cemetery was built in 1841 and contained tons of features I found in this book.
In 2021 I was stationed at Ramstein Air Force Base and in the neighboring city, Kaiserslautern, there was a huge cemetery and war memorial, Hauptfreidhof Kaiserslautern. One of the only religious symbols I have seen from this book in real-life was the Cohanim Hands (pg 157) I found in the old Jewish section.
There I found a memorial dedicated to German soldiers from the area killed in WWI and WW2, a small Orthodox section for killed Russian POWs from WW2, and marked graves dedicated to children killed during Allied Bombing in WW2.
Overall I would highly recommend this pocket guide if you are into visiting cemeteries and memorial gardens. Thanks!
January 30, 2024
Stories in Stone: A Field Guide to Cemetery Symbolism and Iconography by Douglas Keister (2004), 288 pages.
Me and cemeteries go way back. I transcribed my first one (with Ben and a friend, Rachel Ash), beautiful Seabold Cemetery on Bainbridge Island, Washington, in 1999. I’ve always wondered about all those symbols and icons used on headstones. It’s taken all these years for me to finally read a book on it…and it’s a keeper.
This book achieved its purpose, printed on quality gloss paper and loaded with beautiful photo examples. Most examples are from cemeteries in California, Italy, France and Scotland. There’s also a 22-page listing of hundreds of acronyms of secret societies and fraternities along with their names. You can Google the name to bring up websites on those fraternities to learn more about them. And, by George, there’s an index.
This book will be added to the things I always carry with me when I go cemetery crawling, along with my mini shovel, a weeder, small dusting broom, mosquito spray, sunscreen, pepper spray, bottled water and my camera, for sure…and sunglasses and hat for disguise. LOL!
Just like styles in homebuilding, or styles in clothes, the style of headstones have changed over the years too.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, people were more focused on their mortality. So you would see a lot of morbid looking skulls, crossbones, skeletons, scythes and empty hourglasses symbolizing the passing of time. Even epitaphs were more embraced of death. Here’s one example found on a tombstone in Dundee, Scotland:
“Remember man as you pass by / As you are now so once was I / As I am now so you must be / Remember man that you must die.” (p. 132)
Later, people began to soften their outlook on death. Cherubs with wings, clasped hands, draped urns, fingers pointing upwards and heavenly gates started making their mark in cemeteries. Children’s headstones started to be embellished with doves, lambs and broken rose stems.
The Roman and Greeks believed in mythical beings and thought all things derived from their different gods. They brought in the vines, trees, fruits, animals and creatures and flowers funerary art with specific meanings pertaining to certain gods.
The Victorian age brought in a lot of decorative and fancy iron and more of a garden art feel to the cemeteries.
Today, we mostly see in newer cemeteries, as we are driving by, nothing but flat stones with name and dates, with the occasional symbol of some club he or she participated in or their profession. But, every so often, I am seeing a new kind of headstone emerging. They are usually large, shiny granite stones with laser-etched designs, which might include an etched photograph along with etched hobbies and personal information. A new era and fashion? If you got the money, honey!
It appears most funerary art derives from Roman and Greek pagan mythology. But, Christians have also adopted a lot of those art forms and have changed the meaning to conform with their own beliefs. From a headstone, we might be able to determine a person’s religion, ethnicity, social memberships and clubs, occupation, and their thoughts on the afterlife, just by the designs implemented on their stones, or even by the shape of the stone, itself. Almost every funerary art has a good and a bad opposing meaning. Who’s to know exactly what is meant unless you know the person? Cemeteries usually don’t keep records of why you chose your symbols, except for very large extravagant headstones and structures, which the author has a chapter on a few of these around the world with great stories of how and why.
As a hobbyist genealogist, I’m telling you, we are looking for anything and everything to get to know our ancestors better.
Since 2012, I have participated in finding and photographing headstones for others at the Find A Grave website. And as a hobbyist photographer, I would love to perfect my skills in capturing the most beautiful headstone photos for other people. There’s nothing more frustrating than to find your ancestor on Find A Grave with a crappy, blurry photo that they proudly put a “copyright” claim to. It’s hilarious and ridiculous. In my bio, I offer to go out and get a better “UN-copyrighted” photo if it’s in my area.
Now that I know it has a name, “funerary art”, and is really a thing, I need to try and do better.
Me and cemeteries go way back. I transcribed my first one (with Ben and a friend, Rachel Ash), beautiful Seabold Cemetery on Bainbridge Island, Washington, in 1999. I’ve always wondered about all those symbols and icons used on headstones. It’s taken all these years for me to finally read a book on it…and it’s a keeper.
This book achieved its purpose, printed on quality gloss paper and loaded with beautiful photo examples. Most examples are from cemeteries in California, Italy, France and Scotland. There’s also a 22-page listing of hundreds of acronyms of secret societies and fraternities along with their names. You can Google the name to bring up websites on those fraternities to learn more about them. And, by George, there’s an index.
This book will be added to the things I always carry with me when I go cemetery crawling, along with my mini shovel, a weeder, small dusting broom, mosquito spray, sunscreen, pepper spray, bottled water and my camera, for sure…and sunglasses and hat for disguise. LOL!
Just like styles in homebuilding, or styles in clothes, the style of headstones have changed over the years too.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, people were more focused on their mortality. So you would see a lot of morbid looking skulls, crossbones, skeletons, scythes and empty hourglasses symbolizing the passing of time. Even epitaphs were more embraced of death. Here’s one example found on a tombstone in Dundee, Scotland:
“Remember man as you pass by / As you are now so once was I / As I am now so you must be / Remember man that you must die.” (p. 132)
Later, people began to soften their outlook on death. Cherubs with wings, clasped hands, draped urns, fingers pointing upwards and heavenly gates started making their mark in cemeteries. Children’s headstones started to be embellished with doves, lambs and broken rose stems.
The Roman and Greeks believed in mythical beings and thought all things derived from their different gods. They brought in the vines, trees, fruits, animals and creatures and flowers funerary art with specific meanings pertaining to certain gods.
The Victorian age brought in a lot of decorative and fancy iron and more of a garden art feel to the cemeteries.
Today, we mostly see in newer cemeteries, as we are driving by, nothing but flat stones with name and dates, with the occasional symbol of some club he or she participated in or their profession. But, every so often, I am seeing a new kind of headstone emerging. They are usually large, shiny granite stones with laser-etched designs, which might include an etched photograph along with etched hobbies and personal information. A new era and fashion? If you got the money, honey!
It appears most funerary art derives from Roman and Greek pagan mythology. But, Christians have also adopted a lot of those art forms and have changed the meaning to conform with their own beliefs. From a headstone, we might be able to determine a person’s religion, ethnicity, social memberships and clubs, occupation, and their thoughts on the afterlife, just by the designs implemented on their stones, or even by the shape of the stone, itself. Almost every funerary art has a good and a bad opposing meaning. Who’s to know exactly what is meant unless you know the person? Cemeteries usually don’t keep records of why you chose your symbols, except for very large extravagant headstones and structures, which the author has a chapter on a few of these around the world with great stories of how and why.
As a hobbyist genealogist, I’m telling you, we are looking for anything and everything to get to know our ancestors better.
Since 2012, I have participated in finding and photographing headstones for others at the Find A Grave website. And as a hobbyist photographer, I would love to perfect my skills in capturing the most beautiful headstone photos for other people. There’s nothing more frustrating than to find your ancestor on Find A Grave with a crappy, blurry photo that they proudly put a “copyright” claim to. It’s hilarious and ridiculous. In my bio, I offer to go out and get a better “UN-copyrighted” photo if it’s in my area.
Now that I know it has a name, “funerary art”, and is really a thing, I need to try and do better.
October 24, 2011
I am the lonely one-star reviewer on this book. It's a nicely produced little hardback that could fit into your pocket on the way to a cemetery trip; unfortunately, it has very limited usefulness for actually understanding the significance of the symbols you're seeing on cemetery markers.
The material culture of cemetery markers - at least during the period before markers became almost entirely mass-produced, generic catalog items - is a hugely complex topic. Books upon books have been published just to deal with local symbolism used in one area during one particular time period, not to mention ethnic and racial differences, but Keister claims to be taking on the whole subject of symbolism in all cemetery markers, ever, worldwide.
Some of his facts he gets more or less correct; but there are no endnotes or sources given for the information in this book, and the 'explanations" for some of the symbolism described just seems to have been pulled out of thin air, or possibly based on a quick Google search or some other source not specific to cemeteries. (For instance, many of his explanations of the symbolism of certain flowers seem to have been lifted from some kind of "Language of Flowers" book, bearing no necessary relation to the ways in which flower images might have been used on grave markers specifically.)
There are a lot of pictures and excessive discussion of the more astounding sculptural cemeteries of Europe, like the Cimiterio Monumentale in Milan and Pére-Lachaise in Paris, which certainly make for good photo ops, but aren't really suited to a "field guide" that an American cemetery enthusiast might want to have with them when visiting a typical American cemetery.
I wish I had a better book to recommend for general readers on this topic, but if I find one, I'll update this review.
The material culture of cemetery markers - at least during the period before markers became almost entirely mass-produced, generic catalog items - is a hugely complex topic. Books upon books have been published just to deal with local symbolism used in one area during one particular time period, not to mention ethnic and racial differences, but Keister claims to be taking on the whole subject of symbolism in all cemetery markers, ever, worldwide.
Some of his facts he gets more or less correct; but there are no endnotes or sources given for the information in this book, and the 'explanations" for some of the symbolism described just seems to have been pulled out of thin air, or possibly based on a quick Google search or some other source not specific to cemeteries. (For instance, many of his explanations of the symbolism of certain flowers seem to have been lifted from some kind of "Language of Flowers" book, bearing no necessary relation to the ways in which flower images might have been used on grave markers specifically.)
There are a lot of pictures and excessive discussion of the more astounding sculptural cemeteries of Europe, like the Cimiterio Monumentale in Milan and Pére-Lachaise in Paris, which certainly make for good photo ops, but aren't really suited to a "field guide" that an American cemetery enthusiast might want to have with them when visiting a typical American cemetery.
I wish I had a better book to recommend for general readers on this topic, but if I find one, I'll update this review.
October 30, 2018
Just like the Tattoo Dictionary I read earlier this year, this book was a big letdown. For the same reason!
I picked this up to hear about Cemetery symbolism. Which I thought was a reasonable thing to do because, you know, the title. Mostly because of the title.
What I didn't need was an explanation of symbols as they exist outside the cemetery.
Do I need an exhaustive history of the cross? No. A history of angels? No. I want to know what this shit means in a graveyard, damn it! And if it means the exact same thing in a graveyard that it does in not a graveyard, feel free to skip it or just say "Cross: [see the rest of the world]."
Also, the layout was bad. This dude is talking about something, but I don't know which picture, if any, goes along with what he's talking about. This was especially bad in the section about architecture, which I can sum up for you like this: Cemetery architecture is reflective of the architectural trends of the area during the time of the person's death. The end. It's cool that a cemetery is a place where all these different architectural styles come together, but that's about it.
There were a few other cool things. They are as follows:
1. Torpedo Coffins. Look these up. They were designed to fucking blow someone the fuck apart if they messed with your corpse after it was buried. That's awesome.
2. There was some really weird stuff about animals. Old beliefs. For example, that bears are born these weird, unformed mounds of flesh, and the mother bear has to mold them into bear shape. How fucked up is that?!
3. "Sarcophagus" translates to "flesh eater." Lots of early Sarcophagi were made of limestone, so they consumed the flesh of the folks stuffed inside of them.
Now, I know that the above three things sound awesome, but take my word for it, that's about it. That's by far the best stuff, and it's the majority of the best stuff.
I picked this up to hear about Cemetery symbolism. Which I thought was a reasonable thing to do because, you know, the title. Mostly because of the title.
What I didn't need was an explanation of symbols as they exist outside the cemetery.
Do I need an exhaustive history of the cross? No. A history of angels? No. I want to know what this shit means in a graveyard, damn it! And if it means the exact same thing in a graveyard that it does in not a graveyard, feel free to skip it or just say "Cross: [see the rest of the world]."
Also, the layout was bad. This dude is talking about something, but I don't know which picture, if any, goes along with what he's talking about. This was especially bad in the section about architecture, which I can sum up for you like this: Cemetery architecture is reflective of the architectural trends of the area during the time of the person's death. The end. It's cool that a cemetery is a place where all these different architectural styles come together, but that's about it.
There were a few other cool things. They are as follows:
1. Torpedo Coffins. Look these up. They were designed to fucking blow someone the fuck apart if they messed with your corpse after it was buried. That's awesome.
2. There was some really weird stuff about animals. Old beliefs. For example, that bears are born these weird, unformed mounds of flesh, and the mother bear has to mold them into bear shape. How fucked up is that?!
3. "Sarcophagus" translates to "flesh eater." Lots of early Sarcophagi were made of limestone, so they consumed the flesh of the folks stuffed inside of them.
Now, I know that the above three things sound awesome, but take my word for it, that's about it. That's by far the best stuff, and it's the majority of the best stuff.
September 15, 2020
I snatched this book off the shelf as soon as my eye landed on it. It has long surprised me that there was no comprehensive dictionary of the symbols found on gravestones. I know the topic is a complicated one, in that the same symbol can mean different things at different times — or even at the same time in different locations. Richard E. Meyer’s introduction acknowledges these difficulties, while casting headstones themselves as a cipher for the person buried beneath. It’s a wonderful image with which to open the book.
Douglas Keister, author of Going Out in Style: The Architecture of Eternity has become the leading American photographer of gravestones. His work appeared in American Cemetery magazine’s “Tomb of the Month” feature, documenting the resting places of the famous and infamous. Photos included in this book have been recycled from other publications, but it’s nice to have them gathered together in one place.
“A Field Guide to Cemetery Symbolism and Iconography” is the truer part of the title. The book’s format (tall and skinny) encourages the reader to take it along to the graveyard, the way you’d take a birding book to the park. However, while the color plates make for lovely viewing, they add to the weight you’ll be toting. In addition, the unfortunate page design doesn’t lend itself to identifying the symbol engraved on the stone before you. Too often, photographs appear at the fold of the page, so you really have to crack the book open to examine them. It makes it difficult to tell a sunflower from a daisy.
Still, there are an immense number of photographs in this book, often three to a page, so there is much on which to feast your eyes. There’s food for thought as well. In the opening section I learned about the significance of tumulus graves and their link to ancient warriors. I wished for a specific citation I could have followed up on, but maybe that’s just me.
The errors in the book — and of course there must be some in a volume of this breadth — are worth mentioning. The caption beside the photo of John Keats’ headstone in the Protestant Cemetery of Rome says simply “Poet.” That much is obvious, since the clearly visible epitaph reads, “This grave contains all that was mortal of a young English poet…Here lies one whose name was writ in water.” I’m nervous that Keister didn’t realize he was recording Keats’ grave as he snapped the photo, printed it, chose it for the book. If he missed something so widely known, can he be trusted on the finer points?
As I followed up on that train of thought, I discovered an unraveling string. The lyre adorning Keats’ gravestone isn’t listed in the index, but the entries mentioned are interesting. The main listing differentiates a lyre from a harp as “more playfully designed.” After some beautiful Chinese folktales, the lyre in Western mythology is summarized as “one of Apollo’s attributes.” No mention is made that the lyre is chosen to adorn poets’ graves in specific reference to the Greek god who invented poetry. Often lyres on headstones exhibit one or more broken strings, as in the case of Keats’ stone, to signify that the poet’s voice has been silenced. Seems to me those might be things the casual graveyard wanderer would like to know.
All that aside, this is a lovely little book, stuffed with photos and intriguing tidbits. Consult it to add whimsy to your wanderings, but it’s not the final word.
Douglas Keister, author of Going Out in Style: The Architecture of Eternity has become the leading American photographer of gravestones. His work appeared in American Cemetery magazine’s “Tomb of the Month” feature, documenting the resting places of the famous and infamous. Photos included in this book have been recycled from other publications, but it’s nice to have them gathered together in one place.
“A Field Guide to Cemetery Symbolism and Iconography” is the truer part of the title. The book’s format (tall and skinny) encourages the reader to take it along to the graveyard, the way you’d take a birding book to the park. However, while the color plates make for lovely viewing, they add to the weight you’ll be toting. In addition, the unfortunate page design doesn’t lend itself to identifying the symbol engraved on the stone before you. Too often, photographs appear at the fold of the page, so you really have to crack the book open to examine them. It makes it difficult to tell a sunflower from a daisy.
Still, there are an immense number of photographs in this book, often three to a page, so there is much on which to feast your eyes. There’s food for thought as well. In the opening section I learned about the significance of tumulus graves and their link to ancient warriors. I wished for a specific citation I could have followed up on, but maybe that’s just me.
The errors in the book — and of course there must be some in a volume of this breadth — are worth mentioning. The caption beside the photo of John Keats’ headstone in the Protestant Cemetery of Rome says simply “Poet.” That much is obvious, since the clearly visible epitaph reads, “This grave contains all that was mortal of a young English poet…Here lies one whose name was writ in water.” I’m nervous that Keister didn’t realize he was recording Keats’ grave as he snapped the photo, printed it, chose it for the book. If he missed something so widely known, can he be trusted on the finer points?
As I followed up on that train of thought, I discovered an unraveling string. The lyre adorning Keats’ gravestone isn’t listed in the index, but the entries mentioned are interesting. The main listing differentiates a lyre from a harp as “more playfully designed.” After some beautiful Chinese folktales, the lyre in Western mythology is summarized as “one of Apollo’s attributes.” No mention is made that the lyre is chosen to adorn poets’ graves in specific reference to the Greek god who invented poetry. Often lyres on headstones exhibit one or more broken strings, as in the case of Keats’ stone, to signify that the poet’s voice has been silenced. Seems to me those might be things the casual graveyard wanderer would like to know.
All that aside, this is a lovely little book, stuffed with photos and intriguing tidbits. Consult it to add whimsy to your wanderings, but it’s not the final word.
January 20, 2016
Really enjoyed this book. The monuments and stories to go along with the people chosen to highlight in this book were so interesting. I am familiar with quite a few since I have lived in the South all of my life! Good pictures too!
January 28, 2016
If you are mystified by all that stuff on old tombstones then this is the book for you. Right after I read it I took a trip to Charleston SC and really enjoyed walking the cemeteries there. There is way more to learn about a person on old tombstones than just the info written, the symbols can tell how they died and in what stage of life they were in. Excellent source book, very recommended
July 29, 2016
This may not be everyone's idea of vacation reading, but I liked it. It makes me want to go explore some cemeteries. Remains to be seen whether I'll remember any of this,
December 13, 2018
An interesting read that takes all of the iconographies of the cemeteries around the world and gives them a voice. A little disappointed that the author did not explore my favorite cemetery (Kensal Green in England - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kensal_...) but with my fave hometown location of Laurel Hill (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurel_...) in full view, I added an extra star.
September 5, 2023
This book both fails at doing what it set out to do; be a field guide to symbolism and iconography in cemeteries; and at the task of being a good read.
So, what is it good for? A review of Bible passages perhaps. Rather than summarize why a symbol might be significant from a Christian context, Keister will at times spend an entire page reprinting the holy book.
And forget about diversity; there’s about three whole pages dedicated to “Chinese and Japanese Symbolism”. It would have been a lot easier to understand if he focused on a specific region rather than half-assing about 10 cultures.
I just about lost it when I read “Passionflower is also the dominate flavor in the sugary tropical drink Hawaiian Punch”. What the f**k does that have to do with anything?!
Take what you learn from this book with several grains of salt. The “facts” are rarely cited.
So, what is it good for? A review of Bible passages perhaps. Rather than summarize why a symbol might be significant from a Christian context, Keister will at times spend an entire page reprinting the holy book.
And forget about diversity; there’s about three whole pages dedicated to “Chinese and Japanese Symbolism”. It would have been a lot easier to understand if he focused on a specific region rather than half-assing about 10 cultures.
I just about lost it when I read “Passionflower is also the dominate flavor in the sugary tropical drink Hawaiian Punch”. What the f**k does that have to do with anything?!
Take what you learn from this book with several grains of salt. The “facts” are rarely cited.
June 2, 2018
This is a very interesting little book. If I still lived a couple of blocks from Woodlawn Cemetery, I would definitely invest in this. There is much lore and cultural history to be gleaned here.
April 29, 2020
MOST excellent. HIGHLY recommended.
July 9, 2023
A very interesting book, explaining the history of the various things seen in cemeteries.
The final chapter focuses on famous people and over-the-top graves.
The final chapter focuses on famous people and over-the-top graves.
April 10, 2019
The flora / fauna & secret society chapters were incredibly dull. I didn't expect such a rote way of describing all of them. It was like a dictionary, bleh.
Also, since the focus of the book seems to be Western cemeteries, I found the repeated inclusion of Japanese & Chinese symbols to be rather strange. Especially since I know they don't include those symbols on gravestones.
The secret society chapter was long and rather ridiculous. I don't need to know what every single letter of some random phrase means, especially for a bunch of societies that I'd never even heard about. I will mention that the treestones were rather cool, but I didn't need to know about the splintering of the groups and what their branches were called.
The best chapter was the one that showed actual graves and told the stories behind them.
I will say, though I didn't enjoy the lengthy symbol chapters, the pictures were excellent to understanding.
Also, since the focus of the book seems to be Western cemeteries, I found the repeated inclusion of Japanese & Chinese symbols to be rather strange. Especially since I know they don't include those symbols on gravestones.
The secret society chapter was long and rather ridiculous. I don't need to know what every single letter of some random phrase means, especially for a bunch of societies that I'd never even heard about. I will mention that the treestones were rather cool, but I didn't need to know about the splintering of the groups and what their branches were called.
The best chapter was the one that showed actual graves and told the stories behind them.
I will say, though I didn't enjoy the lengthy symbol chapters, the pictures were excellent to understanding.
October 18, 2012
First, this is a great size to take traveling. And the color photos are also lovely, especially when so many other books are stuck in black and white. This book is especially good if you're looking up symbols on tombs and finding out what they mean - from animals to Greek letters to societies (there's a multiple page listing of acronyms and what they mean).
This isn't the first book I'd recommend for scholarship - but I have spent many hours on airplanes reading or just looking at the photos.
This isn't the first book I'd recommend for scholarship - but I have spent many hours on airplanes reading or just looking at the photos.
March 30, 2021
An interesting and quick read. It is, however, very biased towards Western culture and religion; it would have been nice to read about the symbolism within Asian, African, indigenous cultures, and so on, not to mention the symbolism present in religions other than Christianity and Catholicism.
March 25, 2014
If you enjoy cemeteries and learning about the symbols and iconography then you will love this books. Lots of neat pictures and fascinating stories about famous tombs.
August 27, 2019
What a charming looking book this is. Tall, thin, classical looking and full of in color grave photographs. How could I resist?
My excitement didn't last long. Soon after I started reading I found issues with the descriptions of types of monuments or architecture styles not matching the photos next to them or no photos being included at all for some of them, which is baffling in a book about photos of graves. I did learn of a few types of tomb styles that I had never heard of before (as the Exedra and the Mort Safe) but other than that most of the information is rather standard and nothing you wouldn't find browsing an online encyclopedia.
The Flora chapter was basically a language of flowers crash course, without much explanation on specific uses of certain flowers in particular grave sites. Also, most of the descriptions went "X flower is a symbol of renewal/rebirth/resurrection/immortality", one after another, making the reader feel that it was rather pointless to give each flower a singular description. You could very well just make a "Flowers that indicate rebirth" category and dump them all in there, and maybe a "Flowers rarely depicted" and explain the meaning and reasons why these weren't used as much as the other mainstream ones.
The Fauna chapter was looking up, starting off well with the meaning of a lamb on a grave (which isn't particularly obscure but still a good sign); however, it soon became a listing of animal trivia, more related to folklore or art than an animal's particular appearance on a tomb. More than a few times long paragraphs of how some given animal could be linked to Satan or some particular belief in Asia were presented, only to be followed with a dismissive comment on how that animal's appearance may be completely decorative and have no deeper meaning in regard to cemetery symbolism.
Some of the sections feel repetitive, the writing being rather bland. Expect many long, mostly unnecessary bible quotations. There were even some listings that alluded to the bible, proceeded to cite a passage and move on without even making a mention of the used of a symbol on a grave.
The "Secret Societies" chapter was the hardest to get through. Lots of irrelevant backstory of how some particular club was created and then branched into other clubs, just to show some pretty self explanatory grave emblems (an elk for the Elk club, a moose for the Moose club...). I get it that as a "field guide" these are important and can be helpful for those who encounter said engraving on a tomb while strolling around a cemetery, but I find irrelevant going to such lengths as listing the club rankings and fees and such.
Lastly, the "Final impressions" chapter was too gossipy from my liking and the photos presented weren't always the most detailed or flattering. I've seen much better on findagrave.com
I wanted to like this book and I tried to like it, but it just didn't bring anything unique or new. I've seen much more comprehensive lists of meaning of gravestones on low budget, self maintained websites. I was expecting more history, more analysis, more discussion.
This is not a book for those who already know a bit about Western religion, mythology and folklore or has already read a few articles about symbolism on Wikipedia.
My excitement didn't last long. Soon after I started reading I found issues with the descriptions of types of monuments or architecture styles not matching the photos next to them or no photos being included at all for some of them, which is baffling in a book about photos of graves. I did learn of a few types of tomb styles that I had never heard of before (as the Exedra and the Mort Safe) but other than that most of the information is rather standard and nothing you wouldn't find browsing an online encyclopedia.
The Flora chapter was basically a language of flowers crash course, without much explanation on specific uses of certain flowers in particular grave sites. Also, most of the descriptions went "X flower is a symbol of renewal/rebirth/resurrection/immortality", one after another, making the reader feel that it was rather pointless to give each flower a singular description. You could very well just make a "Flowers that indicate rebirth" category and dump them all in there, and maybe a "Flowers rarely depicted" and explain the meaning and reasons why these weren't used as much as the other mainstream ones.
The Fauna chapter was looking up, starting off well with the meaning of a lamb on a grave (which isn't particularly obscure but still a good sign); however, it soon became a listing of animal trivia, more related to folklore or art than an animal's particular appearance on a tomb. More than a few times long paragraphs of how some given animal could be linked to Satan or some particular belief in Asia were presented, only to be followed with a dismissive comment on how that animal's appearance may be completely decorative and have no deeper meaning in regard to cemetery symbolism.
Some of the sections feel repetitive, the writing being rather bland. Expect many long, mostly unnecessary bible quotations. There were even some listings that alluded to the bible, proceeded to cite a passage and move on without even making a mention of the used of a symbol on a grave.
The "Secret Societies" chapter was the hardest to get through. Lots of irrelevant backstory of how some particular club was created and then branched into other clubs, just to show some pretty self explanatory grave emblems (an elk for the Elk club, a moose for the Moose club...). I get it that as a "field guide" these are important and can be helpful for those who encounter said engraving on a tomb while strolling around a cemetery, but I find irrelevant going to such lengths as listing the club rankings and fees and such.
Lastly, the "Final impressions" chapter was too gossipy from my liking and the photos presented weren't always the most detailed or flattering. I've seen much better on findagrave.com
I wanted to like this book and I tried to like it, but it just didn't bring anything unique or new. I've seen much more comprehensive lists of meaning of gravestones on low budget, self maintained websites. I was expecting more history, more analysis, more discussion.
This is not a book for those who already know a bit about Western religion, mythology and folklore or has already read a few articles about symbolism on Wikipedia.
February 1, 2023
I like the premise of this book - mortuary symbolism is a fascinating topic, and I would love to learn more about what carvings and statues in cemeteries mean. Since it's a "field guide" I expected it to be somewhat more of a glossary than an in-depth exploration. But it was even more shallow than that.
Rather than a short, museum-plate-style summary condensed by an expert, this felt like a book written by an amateur enthusiast armed only with Google. I'm sorry to be harsh, but I was really disappointed.
Rather than a short, museum-plate-style summary condensed by an expert, this felt like a book written by an amateur enthusiast armed only with Google. I'm sorry to be harsh, but I was really disappointed.
September 3, 2017
This field guide on cemetery symbolism does what it claims to do. I finally learned what it means when you find a 17th century or older gravestone that has a skull. Apparently, at the time, only the "elect" went to Heaven. Everyone else just died -- no immortal soul for them. Over time, belief in the elect eroded, as did the use of the skull, which gave way to a skull with wings, and then other signs about souls rising.
August 27, 2019
A very helpful book that explains so many things you see in a resting place. It also helped me decide what ornamentation would be best for an ancestor that did not have any sort of commemmoration even though he was "famous" in his day. Very helpful and a good read! (My sister bought this for me at the lovely gift shop of Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta GA.)
April 28, 2018
This book is a pretty comprehensive look at what the panoply of symbols on tombstones actually mean....with lots of decent illustrative photos. If you're interested in this topic, this is a solid resource.
May 6, 2022
Nice little book whether you are just interested in cemetery history or using it as a field guide in cemetery exploration, although of course it does not cover all symbols or markings. Concise and easy to understand text, and some beautiful photographs.
July 26, 2022
Fascinating history of the various types of gravestones and other funerary markers, along with the variety of symbols used on those markers. Additional interesting facts abound. The book is also well-illustrated.
January 12, 2024
Definitely a thorough book about gravestone iconography; at times too thorough (for example, the numerous Bible texts when just a reference would be sufficient, and the pages about the categorization of angels). The photos are beautiful, however.
November 25, 2018
Essential guide for cemetery historians.
December 30, 2019
This handy little guide provides a very useful, if at times cursory, introduction to the fundamentals of Victorian cemetery culture, symbology, and iconogrpahy.
March 18, 2020
Cute, but not scholarly.
April 30, 2020
Packed with information, I can't wait for my next cemetery visit to better understand design choices, and understand who the person had been.
September 16, 2020
Es enciclopédico, como un libro de consulta.
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