The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1883-03-15
COFFINS MADE OF GLASS.
The Quaint Conceit OF an Inventor.
us..-.

COFFINS MADE OF GLASS.
The Quaint COnceit OF an Inventor.
Philadelphia Times
Its almost worth while dying to
be buried in one of them" said the in
ventor of glass coffin yesterday to a
Times reporter. Henry HI. Barry, the
speaker, who lives on Fifth street.
Just below Spruce, has for MANY
years interested himself in transpar-
ent systems of burial. After conceiv-
ing the glass casket he kept it secret
for long while, until, on October "a
OF last year, it was patented. He is
searching for capitalist, and the re-
porter became one for the time being.
- es, continued the inventor, 81 be-
ileve the success of this thing is going
to be immense. There is one San
Francisco firm that will take thou
sands of the collins to sell to China
men,"
What is the advantage of glass for
domiciles of the dead ?"
In the first place, one has perfect
preservation. Before being placed in
the vial the patient is embalmed. l
may say that the coffin is devised on
the walnut-shell principle, in two
halves. After my customers are once
securely packed in collins l apply an
exhaust pump, take out all the air
and Theoretically seal up the aperture.
Then the thing is accomplished. |
believe, sincerely, that the whole bust
ness will last through several genera
lions. There is the advantage that
no infectious disease can come
through the glass. The flesh of
the subject will preserve its natural
tints, and relatives and friends will
be able to view the deceased for years
to come.
AS sanitary reform it is unpar-
allelled," he went on; "tenanted cof-
fins can be piled up like any other
merchandise anywhere and stay there
for years. Some people might prefer
to keep relatives in their own houses,
nicely put away in the collins. There
is nothing Objectionable about the
idea. When buried in cemeteries
there will be no exhalations whatever.
and in case of the removal of grave
yards the collins can be taken up and
carted away with no more offense
than would be given by so many kegs
of nails"
ALL SIZES AND DECORATIONS.
"What are the dimensions and
shape of the collins ?" asked the re-
porter.
'They can be made of all sizes. The
glass is three-eighths of an inch thick
and the coffin is oval with a concave
top. 1t would not do to have it flat,
as with a vacuum inside it the glass
would collapse"
Wouldn't they get smashed in
cemeteries ?" queried the incipient in
weston.
"On the contrary. We have a sys-
tenn of toughening the glass that
makes it like iron. A spade struck
against the coffin with a good deal of
force will not break it. Body
snatchers would get their fingers cut,
but that's all right. l don't legislate
for ghOuls. There is no end to the
variations which can be made on
these collins. The glass can be cloud
ed so that only the face is visible. 1t
can be colored, or butterflies and
weeping willow can be placed at in
tervals all over the surface. There
are thousands of ways of ornamenting
the exterior"
A CHEAP LUXURY.
"What will they cost 2" was the
next question.
"FrOm seven up. Seven dollars
mean, of course. They could posi-
bly, be manufactured of such choice
material and so beautifully etched as
to cost as much as thousand dollars
each. have often wished that at the
time of President Garfield's death l
had had glass coffin. 1 am sure it
would have been used. 1 propose to
form company, with a capital of
some half million dollars. No, sir,
L will not sell you the patent outright,
so it's no use pressing me to do SO. L
have too much faith in it's future for
that. Another reason is that | am
determined it shall not get into the
hands of mOnopolists who will run
up the price of collins to a fancy fig
ure. This caSket was invented as
much with the idea of benefiting the
poor as much as anything else. OF
course, there will be money in it for
me, and suppose L shall have to ac-
cept whatever comes"
CATACoMBs OF THE FUTURE.
Mr.. Barry then proceeded to unfold
the particulars of remarkable
scheme. He said that he had often
heard proposition discussed for ex-
cavating and constructing huge cata-
combs in this city for the reception of
the dead. In that case, he thought,
his invention would be invaluable.
He called the scheme "trust and
safe deposit idea" 1--WE should have
a vast system of vaults" he explained,
"in which collins would be placed
Spaces could be reserved for families.
Here, in a stall, would be a father; by
his side his wife; on the upper
shelf the grandmother and grand
father, and above that the
other ancestors. Each coffin
would have number at its foot, and
catalogues would be issued giving the
names of the occupants, for instance,
Henry Jones, 241.' Above the vaults
would be a suite of elegant reception
rooms, into which visitors would be
invited. They could sit down and
call for, say: No. 241.' An attendant
would go down stairs, slide the casket
indicated up on to a little barrow.
come back again and leave it with
them as long as they liked. They
could look at it, have it taken to it's
shelf when they were through, and
return home. A certain amount of
rent would. of course, have to be ex-
acted. What do you say to going into
the enterprise? 1t will take as
suredly. There are lot of other mil
lionaires thinking the matter over, so
you had better decide at once. Good
afternoon: let me hear from YOU in