Preserving the Dead

[Philip Overby]

I'm working on a story that features an undertaker character as my main character. While I don't feel the need to make everything perfect, I would like to know how bodies were preserved and cosmetically altered, perhaps around the 1800s?

Some things I've found so far that are interesting:

1. Usually an undertaker was a side job that many carpenters would have.
2. In most cases, an embalming surgeon was a separate job and would often work in tandem with an undertaker.
3. The undertaker's task was not only to make coffins, but to perform funeral services.

Since my undertaker exists in a fantasy world, I may change things a bit (for example, my undertaker has a sort of cosmetic putty to cover up wounds, that I'm not sure exists in real life or not).

Any thoughts or tips on how people would preserve the dead and what steps an undertaker would take?

 

[CupofJoe]

Since my undertaker exists in a fantasy world, I may change things a bit (for example, my undertaker has a sort of cosmetic putty to cover up wounds, that I'm not sure exists in real life or not).

I knew someone who said that the ashtrays he had around his home were made from the leftover putty he used at work. They were of various skin tone-ish hues and yes he was a trainee undertaker. They were lousy ashtrays, they were very soft and chalky but if you stubbed too hard, you could break through them...

3. The undertaker's task was not only to make coffins, but to perform funeral services.

I bow to superior information but I find this hard to believe in [Christian] Europe of that time... I can't see any priests stepping aside to let a layman do the job of sending someone into the afterlife. It is one of the few certain events in a lifetime. The priest may have little contact with the body or the processing, but I'm can't see them missing out on the funeral. That said if it was a pauper's burial I guess there would just be a hole dug and not much else....

 

[Caged Maiden]

so... body preservation largely depends on your culture's religious beliefs. For instance, Christian burials happen quickly because other than draining body fluids and replacing with embalming fluid, there isn't a lot of "preservation". Bacteria from the body itself begins consuming dead tissues relatively quickly.

If, however, your culture didn't demand a body be buried whole, removing the guts would certainly help the body's longevity, as that's the majority of the bacteria.

Also..., I think about now, where if you book a funeral at a funeral home... you don't get a priest, it's the funeral home that organizes the funeral and runs the service. I think if you want a priest, you have to pay special premium prices for that.

Some ideas which might fit into a fantasy setting:

1 An ice house sort of building where the bodies are kept, or a cellar with a constant 55 degree temp.

2 Perhaps there are organisms which could be employed (in the same way we use enzymes to clean certain things like pet urine from carpet) which could be put into the bodies to "clean" them out. Leeches, maggots, parasites, etc. or simply completely fictitious ones.

3 A sort of undertakers' guild.

 

[Guru Coyote]

What I was abouz to contribute goes kinda contrary to the cosmetics idea:
Some real cultures perserve their dead by... drying them over a fire. This is a 'ceremony' or wake that the whole family partakes in, and can take up to several weeks to complete. The result is a dry husk of the ancestor that can then be placed in a spot overlooking the village. Not kidding here, this was actual practice in some parts of Papua - until it was forbidden for hygyne reasons.

 

[Butterfly]

Don't know about the preservation...

I have heard that undertakers would carry the body out of the house feet first so the soul of the dead person was not looking backwards on all they were leaving behind.

 

[Philip Overby]

Thanks everyone for the feedback! I'm not a real stickler for everything being perfect, but I'd like to have something that's at least believable.

 

[AnneL]

A quick Google Books search turned up this: History of Embalming, and of Preparations in Anatomy, Pathology, and Natural ... - Jean Nicolas Gannal - Google Books (1836)

 

[Philip Overby]

I use Yahoo as my search engine mostly, so I guess nothing decent came up. Thanks AnneL! I'll check this out.

 

[AnneL]

Google Books is a great resource for texts from the 1700-1800s for this sort of thing, although searching is hit or miss. Anyone wanting authentic historical details about trades, customs, furniture, travel, etc. from that era should poke around on it. One of my characters is a clockmaker, and I found several great clock repair manuals. I've also used it to find info on the early days of steam travel, table manners and etiquette, fencing, and dance patterns.