Interesting Article and Pics from Human Flower Project. Might also want to check out site for the Museum it speaks of. Danny
May 18, 2005
Set Pieces and Odd Fellows
Wheels, stars, compasses—Floral emblems have faded from view, along with the civic groups they symbolized.
Set-Piece
the Kiwanis emblem
Photo: Baacks.com
Poles apart from the “loose garden arrangements†popular now, funeral flowers in the first two decades of the 20th century tended to be giant, fragrant badges. These “set pieces†were just that: metal armatures shaped into hearts, crosses, and the insignias of organizations.
The local Rotary Club might order a broken wheel to memorialize the loss of one of its members. The Masons would send a compass of carnations, and the Odd Fellows Lodge would be represented by three flower-studded chain links, their emblem of solidarity.
It’s rare to see flower arrangements like these anymore, so thanks to the Museum of Funeral Customs in Springfield, Illinois, for putting together an exhibition of them.
Curator Jason Meyers writes, “These floral pieces reached the height of their popularity in the United States around the turn of the 20th century and into the first two decades. Most of them faded from use starting after World War II.†Meyers rummaged through the basements of old flower shops to find the armatures, many of which had not been used in decades, and Jean’s Flower Shop of Springfield produced the set-piece arrangements. The show of silk flowers and related memorabilia will be on view at the museum until June 5.
Order of the Eastern Star
Photo: Baacks.com
It’s not surprising that you don’t see the five-toned emblem of the Order of the Eastern Star done up in flowers at funerals; there’s probably no chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star in town anymore.
The heyday of set piece arrangements was also the heyday of American civic organizations. Robert Putnam in his book Bowling Alone, described the Gilded Age and Progressive Era that followed, from roughly 1870-1915, as the “most fecund period of civic innovation in American history,†when “most of the major community institutions in American life today were invented or refurbished.†These groups provided a kind of “armature†for social life, structuring work and friendships, even shaping bereavement—into wheels and compasses.
Masonic emblem
Photo: Baacks.com
Putnam’s study tracks how rapidly these groups declined, especially after 1970. And the shapes of sympathy flowers reflect these changes too. In her fascinating article on changes in funeral flowers, Kathryn Rem reports, “Customized flower arrangements that reflect the interests or vocation of the deceased also are becoming more common.â€
Today’s funeral flowers bring comfort not with anchors and chains—reminders of our affiliations—but through carefully selected tokens of the individual. “Stacey Winch, owner of Winch Floral Shop in Springfield said families sometimes request that special items be inserted into funeral arrangements. She’s put small musical instruments into an arrangement for a musician, scissors and garden tools into one for a gardener, and toys and dolls into those memorializing children.â€
In flowers, as in society, the set piece has given way to the signature.
Posted by Julie on 05/18
May 18, 2005
Set Pieces and Odd Fellows
Wheels, stars, compasses—Floral emblems have faded from view, along with the civic groups they symbolized.
Set-Piece
the Kiwanis emblem
Photo: Baacks.com
Poles apart from the “loose garden arrangements†popular now, funeral flowers in the first two decades of the 20th century tended to be giant, fragrant badges. These “set pieces†were just that: metal armatures shaped into hearts, crosses, and the insignias of organizations.
The local Rotary Club might order a broken wheel to memorialize the loss of one of its members. The Masons would send a compass of carnations, and the Odd Fellows Lodge would be represented by three flower-studded chain links, their emblem of solidarity.
It’s rare to see flower arrangements like these anymore, so thanks to the Museum of Funeral Customs in Springfield, Illinois, for putting together an exhibition of them.
Curator Jason Meyers writes, “These floral pieces reached the height of their popularity in the United States around the turn of the 20th century and into the first two decades. Most of them faded from use starting after World War II.†Meyers rummaged through the basements of old flower shops to find the armatures, many of which had not been used in decades, and Jean’s Flower Shop of Springfield produced the set-piece arrangements. The show of silk flowers and related memorabilia will be on view at the museum until June 5.
Order of the Eastern Star
Photo: Baacks.com
It’s not surprising that you don’t see the five-toned emblem of the Order of the Eastern Star done up in flowers at funerals; there’s probably no chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star in town anymore.
The heyday of set piece arrangements was also the heyday of American civic organizations. Robert Putnam in his book Bowling Alone, described the Gilded Age and Progressive Era that followed, from roughly 1870-1915, as the “most fecund period of civic innovation in American history,†when “most of the major community institutions in American life today were invented or refurbished.†These groups provided a kind of “armature†for social life, structuring work and friendships, even shaping bereavement—into wheels and compasses.
Masonic emblem
Photo: Baacks.com
Putnam’s study tracks how rapidly these groups declined, especially after 1970. And the shapes of sympathy flowers reflect these changes too. In her fascinating article on changes in funeral flowers, Kathryn Rem reports, “Customized flower arrangements that reflect the interests or vocation of the deceased also are becoming more common.â€
Today’s funeral flowers bring comfort not with anchors and chains—reminders of our affiliations—but through carefully selected tokens of the individual. “Stacey Winch, owner of Winch Floral Shop in Springfield said families sometimes request that special items be inserted into funeral arrangements. She’s put small musical instruments into an arrangement for a musician, scissors and garden tools into one for a gardener, and toys and dolls into those memorializing children.â€
In flowers, as in society, the set piece has given way to the signature.
Posted by Julie on 05/18