I’m not a fan of royalty by any means. But being interested in design I was struck by Elizabeth II’s face mask, pictured above, prior to the funeral of her consort Philip.
It’s the, mm…, negative if you will of “the late nineteenth and early twentieth century black-edged card supplied by the local undertaker from stock,” as described by The Ephemera Society.
The cards enabled relatives to announce their bereavement to family and friends and they survive in their dull thousands. With little artistic or historical merit, they give no indication of the wealth of ephemera associated with death and mourning.
[…]
Mourning, it must be said, has been enjoyed for centuries […].
Wealth, and enjoyment, being relative, as always.
Neat, thanks.