The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1883-10-03
CoMns Made OF c ass.

Hurled in one OF them. = ! lie nven-
tor Of a -la~- coffin Ne teT.ilvi1a Inns
reporter. The speaker. wi" Ives ru
Fifth street. Just below ~plu q. Tia, Tor
many Years Interested himself: u trans
Darent systems ot lur al. Attct con-
ceiving the glas, ca-ket he k"lt II = Sc
cret Tor a long while. until. on 0etoler
oath of last wear. il was patented. lie
i searching for a capitalist and The r.
porter became one for the tiue beng.
YES. continued the inventor. be-
ljeye , success OF this thing : gong
10 be cn.c. There j, one San
Franci,," usn That will take thousands
of coffin> TO Cinnamon
What i, = advantage OF glass domi-
Giles for%he ,.ead
In the first place, II has perfect
reservation. Before being placed in
the vial the patient is embalned- |
NAV saw that the coffin il devised on the
walnut shell principle, in two halves.
After nv customers are once securely
packed in collins. | apply an exhaust
pump. take out all the air and hermeti-
cally seal up the aperture. Then the
thing is accomplished. | believe, sin
c~erely. that the whole business will last
llIph8u A AA'A4'-
the advantage that no infectious disease
can come through the glass. The flesh
of the subject will preserve It's natural
tints. and relatives and friends will be
able to view the deceased for years 10
come.
"As a sanitary reform it is unparal-
leled.' he went on "Tenanted collins
can be piled up like any other merchan-
disc anywhere and stav there tor years.
Some people might prefer TO keep rela-
tlyes in their own houses nicely put
twav in collins. There i. nothing OBJ
~iectionable about the idea. When
buried in cemeteries there Will be no
eXhalatlons whatever. II IN case OF
the removal 81 grIveNar;i>. the Cofflns
can be taken up tud carted away With
no more utlen~e than would he gwen BY
50 many kegs ot halls
what are the dimensions and shape
OF the coffin z" asked the reporter.
They can hc made OF all sizes. The
glass is three Fights OF al inch thick and
the coffin is Oval With a concave top. 1t
would moi do to have it fiat. rs with a
vacuum inside it the glass would col
lapse"
wv oul Int they get smashed in Gem
cterie> - qucricd the iucipient investor.
ION the contrary. We have a sys-
tenn OF tou.iIrning the glass that makes
it like iron. \ 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.
don't leyislate for ghouls. There Is no
end to the variations which can be made
on these collins. The glass can be
rlouded 80 that only he face Is visible.
1t can be co.ored. or butterflies and
weeping willows can be placed at inter-
walls all over the surface. There are a
thou-ando ways of Ornamenting the eX-
terror"
What Will they COST was the next
question.
From seven, up. Seven dollars.
mean. of course. They could possibly
be manufactured of such choice material
and so beautifully etched as to cost as
much as a thousand dollars each.
have often wished that at the time OF
President Garfield's death | had had a
glass coffin. | am sure it would have
been used. | propose to form a com
pany. with a capital of some halt a mil
lion collars. No. sir, | will not sell YOU
the patent outright. so it's nc use press.
ing me to do so. | nave too much faith
in its future to dot that. Another reason
is that / am determined 1t shall not get
into the hands of monopolists who vii
run the price Of collins to a fancy figure.
The casket was invented as much Will
the idea Of benetiting the poor as any
thing else. OF course, there will he
money in it for me, and | suppose
shall have to accept it,
He then proceeded to unfold the par.
ticulars of a remarkable scheme. He
said that he had often heard a PROPOSE.
ton discussed for eXcavating and con
structing huge catacombs in this city
for the reception Of the dead. In thai
case. he thought. his invention would
be invaluable. He called the scheme {
trust and safe deposit idea" Nv
should have a vast system OF vaults
he explained. I'm which collins woul,
be placed. Spaces could be reserved fol
antilles. Here. in a stall, would be &
'ather; by his side his wife on the up
per shelf the grandmother and grand.
Iather, and above that other ancestors
Each coffin would rave a number at It's
foot, and catalogues would be issued
giving the names of the occupants, ion
instance, Henry Jones. 24l.' Above
the vaults would be Il suite of elegant
reception rooms, INTO which visitors
would be invited. They could sit down
and call for. say: No. Oil An at.
tendant would 90 down stairs. slide the
casket indicated up On to IL little bar
row. come back again and leave it with
them as lon0 as they like"