Iron Coffin Mummy on PBS

Inventors

Almond Dunbar Fisk

Almond Dunbar Fisk was born in 1818 in upstate New York in the town of Chazy on the western shore of Lake Champlain. He began his early professional career as a stove merchant…

William Mead Raymond

Born in 1825 in Charlton, New York, William Raymond took over his brother-in-law, Fisk’s, iron coffin business following his death

In the News

Scott Warnasch asnj bulletin

Archaeological Society of New Jersey’s Bulletin

I’m excited to announce that my article on the early iron coffin industry has been published in the Archaeological Society of New Jersey’s Bulletin. Please contact me if you would like a copy, or go to ASNJ.org to get a copy of the entire journal.  ABSTRACT Fisk’s airtight, metallic burial cases were created in response […]

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Death, Burial and Egypt

image from https://etc.usf.edu/clipart/62600/62694/62694_church.htm Fisk developed his coffins at a unique period in early modern history when many traditions were being challenged, fading or replaced. By the early 1800s, American attitudes about death and burial had begun to move away from the puritanical views of the colonial period and the traditional concepts of the body, soul, […]

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New York Times: This Empty Lot Is Worth Millions. It’s Also an African-American Burial Ground.

Article by Kaya Laterman The flier advertising a near-one-acre plot of land for sale in Elmhurst, Queens, looks like a typical real estate listing. The oddly-shaped parcel that abuts the Long Island Rail Road tracks is available for $13.8 million. According to the flier, the lot is a great opportunity to capitalize on the growing demand for residential space […]

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