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touch-the-flame — The Book of Death II
Published: 2009-05-30 01:16:17 +0000 UTC; Views: 856; Favourites: 25; Downloads: 34
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Photographed at Loudon Park Cemetery, Baltimore, MarylandRelated content
Comments: 20
Wonderful. You have a very good eye for what makes a good photo.
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Thank you so much!
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Love finding books of death. Her hand looks like the skin is peeling off. I can never get close enough to the books to get a pic this close. Well done
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This particular statue is almost at ground level, which made for the ability to get this sort of image. What I REALLY want to get is a good image looking over the shoulder. Unfortunately that hasn't been practical... yet...
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I like this picture but why did you choose such a title to it?
and I also like your idea of collecting this kind of poetry!
that will be something sad but beautiful!
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In cemetery iconography and sculpture when an angel is depicted writing in a book it often symbolizes the writing of the "last chapter" of the deceased's life, hence the "Book of Death."
Cemetery poetry is sad, beautiful, haunting and serene. I absolutely love the poem on my deviation "He loved her..." So creating a collection is very attractive to me.
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well, I didn`t khow this. that`s so interesting!
I didn`t think angels could actually symbolize such things when depicted writing.
thank you for explaining this! 
personally I like such shots but I don`t feel I`m ready to collect my own one.
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I have some stones I've photographed where I'm still trying to decipher some of the writing. It's kind of like detective work combined with a romantic spirit, with a dash of melancholy and a pinch fantasy thrown in for good measure.
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Thanks so much. I'm fascinated not just by the sculptures themselves, but trying to understand why people chose particular imagery or iconography for their final resting place. I'm also in the process of collecting cemetery "poetry" for a series (one example is here... [link] ).
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You know what? I always wondered the same thing when it comes to why images were chosen. Especially when you consider they were chosen by others and usually not the person who died. Although I have heard there are some in which the actually deceased person chose their own pieces. I wonder how hard it would be to research some of that?! I love the cemetery poetry series idea!
Sorry it took me so long to respond! You can kick me if you want.... lol!
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Sometimes I think it's just "style." I've collected a few images of very art deco-looking headstones, and they're all from that late 1920's/early 1930's time period. The one cemetery I frequent has quite a few headstones with photos or sculpture embedded of the departed, and they're almost all Italian families from the early 20th century. There are some that seem ridiculously ostentatious. But the statuary fascinates me. Some - like particular saints - are easy to figure out. St. Cecelia for musicians, St. Patrick for the Irish, St. Joseph for the Italians, etc. And of course, the lambs and cherubs on the headstones of children.
I'm definitely going to keep collecting the poetry (and will probably post a set soon). I went out with my Dad a few weekends ago and we visited the grave of one of my great-grandparents and sure enough she had a little poem on hers.
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Thanks - I think so. I think I'm going to explore more along this idea - I love the detail!
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I want to see more if you have em
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Oh, they'll be coming!
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I'll be waiting
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