IMPROVEMENTS IN BURIAL CASKETS
Year: 1885

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
I, JARED CARROLL HOUSE of Lowville, in the county of Lewis, and State of
New York, United States of America, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature
of my invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN BURIAL CASKETS" and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained- in and
by the following statement:-
The object of this invention is to construct an imperishable burial case of a
light, strong, and practically air tight material.
The nature of the invention consists in forming the case of thin layers or sheets
of felted asbestos or similar material united together by an adhering filling and
cementing material formed of a solution of asphaltum, ozocerite, or other suitable
water-proof cement.
The sheets of felted material are held in form by a skeleton iron frame interposed
between the different sheets of the felted material.
The invention will be readily understood by reference to the accompanying
drawings, of which
°
Figure 1 is a perspective view of, a completed casket or burial case, showing a
portion of the top of the casket broken out so as to disclose the lattice iron.
skeleton supporting frame.
Figure 2 is a transverse sectional elevation of the improved casket.
In carrying this my invention into operation, I first make a mold or former, (not.
shown). This mold or former is made in two sections one each respectively for the
bottom and top parts of the said case or casket, and the parts of the said mold or
former which are to shape the contiguous edges of the completed case respectively
terminate in laterally projecting flanges, which give shape to the projecting flanges
of the casket, by which said flanges, the two parts of the casket are joined
together.
A metallic frame A, of strap iron, is made of longitudinal and transverse pieces
of say one-sixteenth of an inch in thickness, and say one and one-quarter inches in
width. This frame is made to conform to the exterior contour of the aforesaid
mold or former, but slightly larger than it, so as to allow for one or more sheets of
the. felted material to be interposed between it and the said former. The iron
straps or bars forming the stiffening frame are riveted, soldered, or otherwise,
fastened together at their intersections so as to form a stiff, substantial frame.

page_text: In building the casket, I first take a sheet of felted asbestos or similar material
and press it to the exterior sides of the mold or former, tacking it thereto wherever
required. The exterior surface of the first sheet thus put in place is then
thoroughly coated with some suitable water proof cement and then the iron frame
is put in place and securely pressed down into the adhesive coating prepared as
above to receive it. Of course there may be two or even more of the sheets of the
felted material put on inside of the iron frame, but one is usually sufficient. After
the iron frame is in place and thoroughly pressed down to the felt, other sheets of
the felted material in one or two thicknesses, are fitted into the meshes or panels
of the frame, and cemented in place, thus building the felted body of the casket
out flush with the exterior of the iron frame, and after this is done one or more
layers of the felted asbestos or other similar material are put on the exterior of the
casket thus started, and so it is built up to the full thickness required. Care must
be taken in turning the angles of the body and at the flanges to make the felted
sheets fill out fully and firmly to the extreme edge, and to do this it may sometimes
be necessary to interpose small pieces of some woven textile fabric between the
sheets of felted material, and wherever required clamping screws may readily be
applied to press the exterior sheet into place until the cement shall have become
dry enough to hold the parts together.
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The interior felted sheet or sheets B, and the outer sheets B¹, are respectively
turned outwardly into an outwardly projecting flange b, 61, by which said flanges
respectively formed on the adjacent edges of the top and bottom parts of the case,
the two said parts of the case are joined together by assembling screws or bolts
which unite the two parts of the case together. When required a suitable packing
or cement may be interposed between the said flanges of the top and bottom part.
of the case, so as to seal the joint air tightly. In forming the holes through the
flanges b, 61, it is preferable to have them or some of them pass through the ends
of the straps or bars forming the iron frame, thereby securing more rigidity of the
parts.
0
A wooden or metal molding or fillet piece C may be secured in each of the angles
formed between the sides of the case, and the exterior face of its flange b, b, for the
purpose of securing greater strength to the flange. This piece in the case of the
Hange of the upper part or cover of the casket may be made to overlap the exterior
edges of the two assembled flanges, so as to hide the joint. These pieces may be
ornamented or polished and thus form a handsome trimming to the exterior of the
case.
In lieu of the felted asbestos sheets, any animal or vegetable fibrous goods may
be used but asbestos presents the greatest advantage of being indestructible and
therefore the best.
The cement used may be any suitable water proof adhesive material, but a
solution of asphaltum, or ozocerite, in naphtha or any similar hydro-carbon solvent
is found to be well suited to the purpose, and is probably the best. One or more
of the courses or sheets may be thoroughly saturated with a cement so as to make
the casket both air tight and water-proof.
After the case or casket shall have been fully completed as above the interior
may be trimmed in any suitable manner, and the exterior may either be treated
with any suitable painter's filling and rubbed down and polished, or it may be
covered with cloth, velvet, or any material usually used for such purposes.
A glass top may of course be built into the case when desired.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
1. A burial case or casket formed of sheets of durable felted goods cemented to
the interior. and exterior of a metallic forming frame with a suitable waterproof
cement substantially as shown and described,

page_text: 2. A burial case formed of sheets of felted asbestos cemented to each other on
the outside of a suitable mold or form, and rigidly held in shape by a skeleton
metallic frame, substantially as shown and set forth.
3. A burial case formed on the exterior of a mold or former, by means of two or
more sheets of pliable material such as felted asbestos, placed successively upon the
mold or former, and held together each to the other by an interposed water-proof
cement of dissolved asphaltum or a similar adhesive substance, substantially as
shown and described.