The photos are really fascinating. The grave with the top part shaped like a casket is very unique. Great walking tour, thank you very much Tony. Have a great memorial day weekend 😊
The photos are always wonderful. Nice to see a face with the name..Thanks for the shout out..glad I could help as always...excellent video..to ALL..Happy Memorial Day Weekend
Thanks Lisa❤ You didnt leave them up very long. A couple of the pictures looked like drawings. Send that wind to my part of Texas😊 1000 pm it was 86 feel like 93😮 need to get a bigger fan😊 no ac😢
Not a single unattractive photo on any of the tombstones. It’s readily apparent that people took pride in their appearance and valued having portraits taken.
I wonder if there is meaning behind the checker board pattern on the sides of the monuments. It seems to be on a lot of graves. You see the same pattern on old Masonic art. Is there any reason given for its use?
with older black and white photos there was tinting that could be done by the photographer's studio on the salt paper photo. This was often watercolor or ink that could add color or if the photo appeared too grainy it could be enhanced by darkening with ink by hand. likely the picture of the deceased at 10:49 had some of this tinting done to the original photo to heighten the contrasts.
also random but I have a theory as to why so many of these stones have portraits. In the old world to have a portrait (a painting) was a symbol of prestige. With the advent of photography more people could have their portraits via photos, but the early processes were still too expensive for farmers or factory workers to afford. When someone migrated to the US and finally got a job that gave them disposable income a very trendy thing to do was to have a type of photo taken called a cabinet photo. There were even cabinet photos of different celebrities in the late 1800s and early 1900s that were available for purchase from photographer's studios and could be put on display in little viewing cabinets, hence the name. Many of the photos on these stones were probably reproductions of the cabinet photos of the deceased. Sorry this was lengthy but I love art history and I love finding little examples of art history out in the world.
During WWI, my grandfather left his work in Pennsylvania coal mines to return to "the old country" and fight for Italy. My grandmother and her infant son, my father, stayed in Pennsylvania until he returned. I wondered if other Italian American families had similar experiences. There are a number of old gravestones in our family of that generation who had photos on the gravestone, but that is not a tradition that our family has continued to carry on.
I had an uncle that lived in New York, and when he returned to Italy to visit some family during World War II, they basically took his papers and made him serve in their military over there.
@CryptDoor When I was a kid, we sang a very nasty song about Musolini while riding on the school bus. We had a lot of songs to the tune of famous songs that we made up risqué lyrics for. Half the time, we had no idea what we even meant.
On the East Coast, we have nothing like those underground family tombs that are common in this cemetery. I wonder if the cemetery built these "pre-need" and then sold them to customers already completed? That would seem to make sense, as they all look to be pretty much the same other than the memorial marker with the names inscribed.
Post mortum pictures they took a picture of the corpse and then artist at the photographer's studio would oil paint the eyes and try to give an impression of life some were better than others a lot of working poor could not afford photos but life insurance provided funds for a final portrait.
I don't think you can beat an Italian cemetery. Just outstanding. Thanks for the amazing photos!
I know I say this every time but I absolutely love the porcelain photos 😊 Thanks for the tour, Tony!
I have to add that the photos of your grandparents at the end of the video are just lovely. I’m sorry to see that they both passed so young.
Gem's! Each and every one. Thanks so much for taking us and showing us these beautiful people.
Thank You!
Love the Italian cemeteries and the pictures we don't have many photos in Britain they were not allowed but are getting more popular 🏴
The photos are really fascinating. The grave with the top part shaped like a casket is very unique. Great walking tour, thank you very much Tony. Have a great memorial day weekend 😊
Outstanding! These stones are stunning and the pictures tell us so much!
The photos are always wonderful. Nice to see a face with the name..Thanks for the shout out..glad I could help as always...excellent video..to ALL..Happy Memorial Day Weekend
Thanks again!
I love those pictures what they have
A very Beautiful Cemetery 🎉.
It sure is
Nice to see such a tidy cemetery and no grass to grow over the graves is a good thing but some lovely photos
So sad the photos of the little children. RIP to all.
Thanks Lisa❤ You didnt leave them up very long. A couple of the pictures looked like drawings. Send that wind to my part of Texas😊 1000 pm it was 86 feel like 93😮 need to get a bigger fan😊 no ac😢
Top job Tony, as always. 👏👏👏
Thanks Kev!
Brilliant video 📸😊❤
Thank you 😁
Greetings from Poteet Texas and thanks for another great video
Hello there!
Greetings from italy Tony. Interesting video. Watching many italian peoples to immigrated also in west coast CA.
Thanks!
So cool🏛🪦⚰
Not a single unattractive photo on any of the tombstones. It’s readily apparent that people took pride in their appearance and valued having portraits taken.
Very true.
❤❤❤❤
Thank You!
I wonder if there is meaning behind the checker board pattern on the sides of the monuments. It seems to be on a lot of graves. You see the same pattern on old Masonic art. Is there any reason given for its use?
with older black and white photos there was tinting that could be done by the photographer's studio on the salt paper photo. This was often watercolor or ink that could add color or if the photo appeared too grainy it could be enhanced by darkening with ink by hand. likely the picture of the deceased at 10:49 had some of this tinting done to the original photo to heighten the contrasts.
also random but I have a theory as to why so many of these stones have portraits. In the old world to have a portrait (a painting) was a symbol of prestige. With the advent of photography more people could have their portraits via photos, but the early processes were still too expensive for farmers or factory workers to afford. When someone migrated to the US and finally got a job that gave them disposable income a very trendy thing to do was to have a type of photo taken called a cabinet photo. There were even cabinet photos of different celebrities in the late 1800s and early 1900s that were available for purchase from photographer's studios and could be put on display in little viewing cabinets, hence the name. Many of the photos on these stones were probably reproductions of the cabinet photos of the deceased. Sorry this was lengthy but I love art history and I love finding little examples of art history out in the world.
When are you coming to Pennsylvania
During WWI, my grandfather left his work in Pennsylvania coal mines to return to "the old country" and fight for Italy. My grandmother and her infant son, my father, stayed in Pennsylvania until he returned. I wondered if other Italian American families had similar experiences. There are a number of old gravestones in our family of that generation who had photos on the gravestone, but that is not a tradition that our family has continued to carry on.
I had an uncle that lived in New York, and when he returned to Italy to visit some family during World War II, they basically took his papers and made him serve in their military over there.
@CryptDoor When I was a kid, we sang a very nasty song about Musolini while riding on the school bus. We had a lot of songs to the tune of famous songs that we made up risqué lyrics for. Half the time, we had no idea what we even meant.
On the East Coast, we have nothing like those underground family tombs that are common in this cemetery. I wonder if the cemetery built these "pre-need" and then sold them to customers already completed? That would seem to make sense, as they all look to be pretty much the same other than the memorial marker with the names inscribed.
Post mortum pictures they took a picture of the corpse and then artist at the photographer's studio would oil paint the eyes and try to give an impression of life some were better than others a lot of working poor could not afford photos but life insurance provided funds for a final portrait.
Are most of these the large underground family mausoleum vaults?
I took a tour there last year and they said basically what you see on the above ground ones that’s what it’s like in the underground ones also.
Wow, your Grandparent's died young. What happened with the children or were they mostly grown by then?
I’m going to do a video later on answering and responding to all of the comments. I’ll explain.