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"There is no doubt that the feeling which pervades the majority of people who erect monuments to their dead is of the tenderest; a sincere desire to do nothing, even in the simplest form, which is not fitting and in entire harmony with the feeling that prompts the erecting of the memorials. This feeling, if properly protected and guarded, would lead to the harmonious and sober treatment so necessary in such places."
-Augustus Saint Gaudens in Modern Memorials in Marble
Vermont Marble exhibit at the Rutland Fair (1921)
In the early days of the marble industry, marble was used primarily for headstones; a much smaller product than the eventual extraction of masonry blocks for construction or even the precarious nature of quarrying slabs for counters and thin panel veneer. Some argue that the earliest days of the industry in Vermont began as people noticed locals in the early 19th century using bedrock for headstones themselves, and sought to make a profit from otherwise deemed "worthless" land. After all, marble had been used since ancient times and carried with it an association of purity and eloquence.
Different funerary headstones, monuments, and gravestone markers can be traced through the Vermont Marble Co.'s history in various catalogues and ledger books as customers sought varying designs at varying price ranges for their loved ones.
Click on the images below to see each interactive pamphlet published on Internet Archive.
Early book of epitaphs to choose from (1889)
Catalogue of designs intended for children's headstones and memorials (1910)
Price list of different stones and designs (1919)
Vermont Marble Memorials (1931)
Affordability
Affordability
Though some more extravagant options existed, a decent proportion of designs exhibited by the Vermont Marble Co. aim at being economical options under $50, considering that in 1923, over 90% of Americans earned a salary of less than $5,000. Prices could be as low as $7.50 for a standard headstone.
Statuary gravestone markers for veterans
Military memorials were a large part of the Vermont Marble Co.'s funerary work. The Civil War had over 600,000 casualties, and another 100,000 Americans died in World War I, with many more returning home as veterans. This created a necessary market for detailed military iconography on memorials.
The lamb is a symbol of innocence and purity, often used to indicate the grave of an infant or child. In 1923, children under 5 years old comprised 20% of all deaths in the nation. This figure decreased from 1900, when 30% of all deaths were children under 5. The demand for memorials was so great that Vermont Marble Co. also produced catalogs with only designs for children.
For a 3D view of a marble carving of a lamb, see the Vermont State University Digital Archaeology Project along with other artifacts from the marble industry.
As cities grew in the 19th century, small cemeteries within city limits became a health hazard and obstacle to development. Large planned garden style cemeteries started to be developed on the outskirts of the cities. Designs like those pictured below featured bench seating and some involved water features and bird baths, helping contribute to this vision of a cemetery as not only a memorial space but a garden and green space reflective of the City Beautiful movement.
This page was largely written and put together by the Lithomania Studio.
References
Children's Designs. Proctor, VT: Vermont Marble Co., 1910. https://archive.org/details/childrensdesigns00verm/mode/2up.
Epitaphs. Proctor, VT: Vermont Marble Co., 1889. https://archive.org/details/epitaphs_booklet_vt_marble_co/mode/2up.
Pluskota, Kaitlin. To Build on the Past: A Foundational Database of the Vermont Marble Company Archives. (Masters Thesis). University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 2015.
Price list of different stones and designs. Proctor, VT: Vermont Marble Co., 1919. https://archive.org/details/pricelistofrutla00verm/page/188/mode/2up.
Vermont Marble Memorials. Proctor, VT: Vermont Marble Co., 1931. https://archive.org/details/vermontmarblemem00verm/mode/2up.
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