Fagin, Elizabeth2020-05-072020-05-072002https://hdl.handle.net/1794/25343264 pagesCast zinc grave markers were only produced by one company: The Monumental Bronze Co. and its subsidiary foundries established throughout the U.S. and Canada. They were produced for a limited time from, 1874 to 1939, and tablets and small monuments could be purchased into the early 1940s. They were invented with the intention of replacing fragile marble tombstones and so, preventing the deterioration to which these stones are prone. Now, 100 years later, the zinc monuments are experiencing their own kind of deterioration. The intent of this terminal project is to add to the small body of knowledge on Monumental Bronze grave markers, to raise awareness and appreciation of these unique cultural resources, to show cemetery aficionados that these monuments require a different kind of preventative maintenance than their stone cousins, and to empower people to initiate the repair of missing and broken tablets before their neglect inspires more vandalism, theft or damage. Zinc grave markers are amazing representations of funeral art whose commercialization resulted in an international popular culture that spread from the American east coast to the west coast and Canada. Despite their mass production and international marketing, their infinite combinations of styles, emblems and epitaphs make each one unique.en-USCreative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0-USTerminal Project