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Novel Burial Caskets

Novel Burial Caskets image
Parent Issue
Day
24
Month
August
Year
1894
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

During tlie past few weeks Washington has eau canvassed by the agent of one of =he moat peculiar pieces of ! neral parapherualia ever invented. It is a burglar and fireproof cofflu, with so many strauge adjuncts that a persou ' seeing it for the first time would throw i up his hands in holy horror at the audacity of the inventor aud the admirable nerve of a mauufacturer that will '■ place such an article on the inarket. Despite the many ghastly features in connection with these cofflusand the al - most blasphemous talk of the enterprising agent, this city has proved to be a lucrative field for him to work, and now j a number of citizens are equipped with the strangest burial appliance of the j ade. The description of the coffln as ' given by the agent is as follows: ''Primaiüy the coffin is fire and bnrglar proof. The cuse is made out of boiler iron hardoned with old bone, spruca bark and leather, which forms an enamel that cannot be penetrated by chisel or drill. It is put together with angle iron and flush rivets. The locks are all ou the iuside, so constructed with hooks and Staples, with a spring behind them, that when a pin is drawn ont from the outside the bolts spring down and lock automatically, and the coffin is then locked so that it cannot be opened from the outside. The only person who can unlock and open the strange coffin is the person inside. " There are two grades of coffins - those for vaults and those to be interred in graves. The coffin to be placed in a vault is equipped with torpedoes that can be exploded from the inside. The theory of this is that in case a person is buried alive he can throw back the bolts, explode the torpedoes and warn the sext-on and thus escape. The coffin to be placed in a grave has attached a strong spring and arm. In case the person inside finds that he wishes to get out all he has to do is to throw back the spring, and this arm is thereby released and cuts its way to the top, exploding a torpedo and warning the keeper of the graveyard. These coffins are sold at so much per pound, and the first purchaser does not have to pay anything down. He simply gives a written guarantee to the manufacturer that he will pay for the coffin from bis estáte within 1 5 days af ter death, or, failing to do this, the manufacturer can claim his body to do what

Article

Subjects
Ann Arbor Argus
Old News