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.. • . The Association for Gravestone Studies - FAQ Page 10 of 13 features, Woodmen advertised themselves as an organization for the "Jew and Gentile, Catholic and Protestant, the agnostic and atheist." The Woodmen of the World emblem is a sawed-off tree stump, often with a mallet or beetle, an ax, and a wedge: the motto "Dum, Tacet Ciamat" (Though Silent He speaks") usually appears somewhere on the border. These Woodmen emblems are found throughout the United States, but the largest concentration is in the South and Midwest. Mortuary Carriages In the 19th century some larger urban areas had pallbearer or mourners' coaches. These would be the equivalent of a limousine today, but they certainly had features that separated them from an everyday coach. You may want to look up www.hearse.com on the Internet. They have photographs of funeral coaches of every size and may have a pallbearer's coach. There is also a national mourning collectors group. Mourning cards Generally most mouming cards are black with gold lettering. Some have generic images, like a dove, flowers, etc. They were used as family mementos and may have been incorporated into a large piece. Some companies produced large lithographs with various mourning iconography, angels, doves, flowers, biblical verses, and there was a spot to place the mourning card within the lithograph. The whole thing was then hung on the wall. I have seen mourning cards in photographs taken of the flower arrangements from the funeral. The photographer propped the cards up near the flowers. I have seen these cards used in shadowbox frames with other artifacts from the person and their wake. The whole thing was then hung on the wall in tribute to them. Shells Clam shells, scallop shells, and other types of shells are a symbol of a person's Christian pilgrimage or journey through Iife and of baptism in the church. In the middle ages, Christians wore the scallop shell to indicate that they had made a pilgrimage to the shrine of St. James of Compostella in Spain. Placing a shell on a gravestone when visiting the site is an ancient custom and may in fact have several different meanings depending on the cultural background of the people placing the shells. The idea of crossing over a body of water to the promised land or crossing the River of Styx to the afterlife, the final journey to the "other side" is also part of the symbolism of the shell. Hands Hands are found on many gravestones: It may be the hand of God pointing downward signifying mortality or sudden death.' The hand of God pointing upward signifies the reward of the righteous, confirmation of life after death. Praying hands signify devotion. Handshakes may be farewells to earthly existence or may be clasped hands of a couple to be reunited in death. as they were in life, their devotion to each other not destroyed by death. Some initials found on gravestones. FLT stands for Friendship, Love, Truth, three degrees associated with the http:lJtvww.gravestonestudies.org/faq.htm 3/12104