Early New England Gravestone Rubbings, Edmund Vincent Gillon, Jr.

​ We are the Gravestone Girls! We create decorative artwork using the beautiful and primitive images carved on olde New England gravestones ; give lectures and tours on cemetery art, history and...

Gravestone Rubbing Supplies

Early New England Gravestone Rubbings, Edmund Vincent Gillon, Jr.

Mary Freeman was buried at Eastern Cemetery in Portland in 1785. Her headstone features a number of classical elements. The columns on the sides represent a noble life. The urn represents immortality and the return of the body to its final resting place. On the urn is a winged face, the symbol of a soul in flight to the afterlife.

Ornate and macabre headstone in one of the country's oldest cemeteries.

Born in 1775. Died on 10 Dec 1797. Buried in Hollis, New Hampshire, USA.

(Above: A composite crayon-on-silk grave rubbing. I used two different markers. Click on image to enlarge.) There's no place on earth tha...

The one thing most visitors to the burying grounds will notice is that a few select images appear on many gravestones. These images correspond to certain time periods and reflect religious beliefs and philosophical attitudes held by Boston residents throughout since the 1630s.

Early New England Gravestone Rubbings, Edmund Vincent Gillon, Jr.