Design For Death

by Barbara Mildred Jones

Genres: Death, Art, Nonfiction

304 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1967

Reviews

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s as much an art object as a book; the jacket design is fantastic, the hardcover binding is a gorgeous purple (so are the page edges), and it’s filled with the author’s own drawings. The writing is quirky, though there isn’t much new information for anyone who’s as widely read on death customs as I am. That really isn’t the point; it’s a beautiful addition to my thanatopian shelves.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jones has a unique style, both in her writing and in her perception. It matches well with her honed wit and her obvious worldliness.
Like her other works, this book is a collection of short essays accompanied by drawings of the subjects in question. It appears to be an expansion of the last chapter of The Unsophisticated Arts, which focused on death and mourning. Jones addresses traditions and routines, both folky and commercial. Though she writes contemporaneously with the early years of the commercial funerary business she lacks the scathing opinions of her peer, Jessica Mitford.
She sketches the subject, careful to show the detail that makes it special, and then makes pithy observations about its use within the culture. Often opinionated, potentially divisive, but never preachy. She is simultaneously an amateur anthropologist and artist. Truly an underappreciated critic.

Here is the table of contents:
The Corpse
The Shroud
The Coffin
The Hearse and the Undertaker's Shop
The Floral Tributes
Printing and the Word
The Procession
The Cemetery and the Crematorium
The Tomb
Relics and Mementos
Where Death Gets You
Loving Death