New Exhibit Opens

On Tuesday, September 10^th during Regular Hours, the Museum of Early Trades & Crafts will open the new exhibit Ghosts, Ghouls, & Gravestones: The Trades of Burial.

The exhibit examines the progression of the burial trade.  Passing away from this world was once a family affair, with immediate members attending to the dying and any funerary arrangements needed.  Over time, the process spread through the social and economic ties of the community.  By 1900, a robust funeral industry had developed that saw to a family’s every need, providing mourning clothes and other accoutrements; funeral  services including preparation of the body, coffin or casket; and even digging the grave, and carving the memorial gravestone.  Meanwhile society had developed strict protocols that dictated the mourning, though not the grieving, process.

Visitors will also learn about the different trades that developed around the funeral industry, including artistic gravestone carving and coffin makers.

This exhibit will remain open until February 2014.  Throughout the exhibit’s duration, various public programs will take place including cemetery tours and lectures.  For more information visit our website at www.metc.org or call 973-377-2982.  Regular Admission.

Coming Up:

Cemetery Tour: Madison and the Civil War,  Saturday, September 14^th   2pm

Join Robert Garman as he gives a tour of Hillside Cemetery in Madison, NJ.  Please meet at the cemetery.  Advance registration recommended, call 973-377-2982 x13.  Admission $10 for Non-Members & $5 for Members (includes Museum admission).

Cemetery Tour: Famous Figures of Madison,  Saturday, September  21^st   2pm

Join Robert Garman as he gives a tour of Hillside Cemetery in Madison, NJ.  Please meet at the cemetery.  Advance registration recommended, call 973-377-2982 x13.  Admission $10 for Non-Members & $5 for Members (includes Museum admission).

FREE Exhibit Lecture & Reception,   Sunday, September 29^th  2 PM

‘Pushing up Daisies’: American Culture and Death presented by folklorist Elinor Levy, PhD.  Come learn why Americans use euphemisms historically and in contemporary culture when discussing death.  Join us afterwards for the opening reception of the exhibit Ghosts, Ghouls & Gravestones.  Advance registration recommended, call 973-377-2982 x13.  FREE!