268 
P A R K A N D CEM EP ER] 
Better Types of the Tablet Memorial 
“There is plenty of architectural and 
sculptural talent available for the elabo- 
rate memorial costing upwards of five 
thousand dollars, but little has been done 
in an artistic way for the stones costing 
from one hundred to three hundred 
dollars." This concise statement re- 
cently appeared in the editorial pages of 
"Monumental News.” On the surface, it 
is a comment innocent enough, so much 
so, in fact, that we accept it without the 
The tablet, so-called, is perhaps the 
most common type of memorial in our 
cemeteries. Under this heading are gen- 
erally included those monuments of 
small scale which cannot be styled sar- 
cophagi, screens, headstones and the 
like, although we often meet the term 
in describing larger types characterized 
by a slender treatment. With the pos- 
sible exception of those tablets which 
have been given an academic touch by 
ally observed. Why is it that in the 
Robinson the effect is so decidedly satis- 
factory despite the reversal of proce- 
dure? Obviously because of the ex- 
tremely small projection of the upper 
base, which is almost a part of the die. 
The bottom stone was but nine inches in 
thickness, leaving but five or six inches 
above the grass line. The letters are 
incised Roman — and cut in Barre gran- 
ite. Please notice how the designer has 
ROBINSON 
iJ^RTHA SAKkE' 
ARCHITECTURAL DECORATION. WELL APPLIED. 
EFFECTIVE AND UNUSUAL BASE TREATMENT. 
slightest feeling. The subtle comparison 
drawn, the incongruity of the situation 
and condition it reveals should not be 
ignored, however. The preponderant 
majority of memorials erected annually 
in this country are unciuestionably in the 
“one hundred to three hundred dollar 
class." It seems impossible that refine- 
ment, character and originality should 
not have been felt in such work until so 
late a day. A vast amount of work is 
daily being placed in our cemeteries, the 
major part of it to remain for ever as 
an indictment of our art. Fortunately, 
however, important dealers have come 
to realize the seriousness of the situa- 
tion and are shunning the crude, mean- 
ingless, and grotesque “jobs” so common 
in any cemetery. By patronizing manu- 
facturers who bend their energies to- 
ward higher ideals, they are fostering a 
“Renaissance" that is quite revolution- 
ary. They are, moreover, supporting the 
trade journals in their persistent and 
fruitful criticisms of the “rock-face 
freaks,” “ice-wagon letters,” piled-up 
bases and other heretofore characteristic 
crimes against good taste. 
It has been a long, almost tiresome 
struggle to awaken interest in the pos- 
sibilities of the inexpensive monument. 
introducing a cap and oth.er classic de- 
tails, the type may be fairly attributed to 
American design. 
Before discussing some of the better 
types of tablet, let us briefly consider 
some principles and suggestions concern- 
ing their design. Writers on the subject 
of composition in architecture empha- 
size the rule that in buildings of the 
vertical type, strong horizontal lines 
be avoided, and likewise in horizontal 
themes, the introduction of strong ver- 
tical members should be avoided. 
In conclusion, we may summarize that 
the tablet is receiving the attention it 
demands ; that important progress has 
been made toward good design and deco- 
ration and that continued development 
depends on conditions not unlike those 
governing other forms, namely, a more 
general knowledge of the laws of line, 
form and decoration, such as they are, 
for their application lifts a work from 
meaningless and uninteretsing medioc- 
rity to the heights of artistic creation. 
In studying the “Robinson” memorial, 
let us first consider the bases. In 
bases of the more common projections 
it is desirable to have each superim- 
posed base smaller than the base imme- 
diately below — a practice quite gener- 
saved the single ornament from the 
common fault of executing car\ing too 
boldly, by raising the detail in a sunken 
panel. Surely no one can charge that 
thie wreath has lost any prominence — and 
it virtually has no relief in the 
common acceptation of the word. The 
dimensions are ; Die, 4-9x0-10x3-3 ; 
B., S-Oxl-lxliya: B. B., 6-4x2-5x91/2; 
erected in Woodlawn Cemetery by the 
Leland Company and carved from their 
design, quite a few years since, by the 
Union Granite Company of Northfield, 
Vt. 
The Bolles talilet is an architectural 
composition of rare refinement. The 
recess and vessel are the “center of in- 
terest.” Such an element is desiralile in 
all compositions. The questionable use 
of the family name on the base was here 
perhaps necessary, though one wonders 
why it was not omitted. The manner in 
which it is done here is not offensive, 
but when it is used on the wash of bases 
it is as incongruous as it would be to 
inscribe a name on the water-table of a 
mausoleum. The sizes are : Cap, 6-5x 
1-51/2.; die, 5-11x0-1 iy2x2-10>^ ; base, 6-4 
xl-4%x0-10. 
