Marble, Granite, Monuments, Gravestones

"Eagle Marble Works. P. F. Eisenbrown, Cor. Elm & 6th Sts., near the new depot, Reading, Pa. Monuments, tombs, grave stones &c. McClement, Phila." For other cameo cards, see J. H. Hain, Manufacturer of Saddles, Harness, Whips, Reading, Pa. , and Best Boiler Works, Lancaster, Pa. ,

"Merritt, Gray & Co., Granite Yard! At the old ferry landing, Groton, Conn. Monuments, head stones, posts, fronts, &c., of Groton granite. Mason work done to order. C. Merritt, R. A. Gray, John Salter."

"Old Lutheran Church and Cemet[e]ry, Middletown, Pa." An old real photo postcard. This church still stands along North Union Street in Middletown today and is known as St. Peter's Kierch or St. Peter's Church. For a similar street view of the church today, see St. Peter's Kierch on Google Maps . For additional views of St. Peter's Kierch and the Revolutionary War monument that stands near it, select the thumbnail images below.

A gravestones and cemeteries photo for the Vintage Photos Theme Park. Written at the top of the photo: "Papa's Grave, Hawesville, Ky., 9/16/25." A search on Find A Grave revealed that this is the gravestone for Joe Aldridge (1875-1914), who's buried in the Hawesville Cemetery, Hancock County, Kentucky. It's possible that the log cabin design of the gravestone indicates that Aldridge was a member of the Woodmen of the World , a fraternal benefit society known today as WoodmenLife.

A Vintage Photos Theme Park photo for the theme of gravestones and cemeteries . This is a nineteenth-century cabinet card photo of the gravestone of Joseph Ritner (1780–1869), who was governor of Pennsylvania from 1835 to 1839. Ritner was buried in the Mount Rock Cemetery in Mount Rock, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. The surroundings looked quite different when I visited the cemetery in 2015. See also the full version of the cabinet card and a comparison of this photo with one I took in 2015 . Joseph Ritner Died Oct. 16, A.D. 1869 in the 90th year of his age. Elected governor of the state of Pennsylvania in 1835.

The cabinet card photo of Joseph Ritner's gravestone is damaged, and there's no indication of a photographer's name or date. For more information, see the cropped version of the photo.

The left-hand photo of Joseph's Ritner's gravestone is a nineteenth-century cabinet card, and the one on the right is a photo I took in 2015. The brick building in the right-hand photo is the Mount Rock United Methodist Church. For additional information, see the original cabinet card photo .

"The Last of the Whole Damm Family. Miss U. B. Dam, born 1889, died 1905. Mrs. I. B. Dam, born 1860, died 1905. Mr. I. B. Dam, born 1855, died 1905. Lizzie Dam, born 1900, died 1905. Baby Dam, born 1903, died 1905. Jimmy Dam, born 1884, died 1905. Annie Dam, born 1884, died 1905. Deserted." The obituary on this postcard (mouse over the image to see an enlargement of the text ) jokingly announced the end of the Dam (or Damm) family, with the exception of "The Dam Dog." At the same time, of course, the publication of the postcard actually perpetuated the "Whole Dam Family" humor fad. In any case, the obituary was probably correct in suggesting that "too much notoriety" was what eventually caused the entire family of Dams--and the humor they generated--to fade from the scene. For other "Whole Dam Family" cards, see The Whole Dam Family and The Whole Dam Family on Their Vacation . Or take a look at The Whole Dam Family Postcard Craze, 1905 .

"The New York Evening. Obituary. The sudden end of the whole Dam family came as a shock to the public last Saturday. They were the most popular and widely known family in the United States on account of their unfortunate name. 'Too much notoriety,' is rumored to have killed the Dam family. The only thing that survives them is the dog, who eventually will see his finish as a Coney Island frankfurter." For more information, see the full postcard: The Last of the Whole Dam Family . Or take a look at The Whole Dam Family Postcard Craze, 1905 .