{"product_id":"death-a-graveside-companion-9780500519714","title":"Death: A Graveside Companion","description":"\u003cp\u003eDeath is an inevitable fact of life. Throughout the centuries, humanity has sought to understand this sobering thought through art and ritual. The theme of memento mori informs medieval Danse Macabre, the Tibetan Book of the Dead, Renaissance paintings of dissected corpses and \"anatomical Eves,\" Gothic literature, funeral effigies, Halloween, and paintings of the Last Judgment. Deceased ancestors are celebrated in the Mexican Day of the Dead, while the ancient Egyptians mummified their dead to secure their afterlife.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e A volume of unprecedented breadth and sinister beauty, \u003cem\u003eDeath: A Graveside Companion\u003c\/em\u003e examines a staggering range of cultural attitudes toward death. The book is organized into themed chapters: The Art of Dying, Examining the Dead, Memorializing the Dead, The Personification of Death, Symbolizing Death, Death as Amusement, and The Dead After Life. Each chapter begins with thought-provoking articles by curators, academics, and journalists followed by gallery spreads presenting a breathtaking variety of death-related imagery and artifacts. From skulls to the dance of death, statuettes to ex libris, memento mori to memorabilia, the majority of the images are of artifacts in the astonishing collection of Richard Harris and range from 2000 BCE to the present day, running the gamut of both high and popular culture.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEssays: \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003eDeath in Ancient and Present-Day Mexico, \u003c\/em\u003eEva Aridjis\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003eThe Power of Hair as Human Relic in Mourning Jewelr\u003c\/em\u003ey, Karen Bachmann\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003eMedusa and the Power of the Severed Head\u003c\/em\u003e, Laetitia Barbier\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003eAnatomical Expressionism\u003c\/em\u003e, Eleanor Crook\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003ePoe and the Pathological Sublime\u003c\/em\u003e, Mark Dery\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003eEros and Thanatos\u003c\/em\u003e, Lisa Downing\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003eDeath-Themed Amusements\u003c\/em\u003e, Joanna Ebenstein\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003eThe Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death\u003c\/em\u003e, Bruce Goldfarb\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003eTheatre, Death and the Grand Guignol\u003c\/em\u003e, Mel Gordon, \u003cem\u003eHoly Spiritualism\u003c\/em\u003e, Elizabeth Harper\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003ePlaying dead - A Gruesome Form of Amusement\u003c\/em\u003e, Mervyn Heard\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003eThe Anatomy of Holy Transformation\u003c\/em\u003e, Liselotte Hermes da Fonseca\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003eCollecting Death\u003c\/em\u003e, Evan Michelson, \u003cem\u003eArt and Afterlife: Ethel le Rossignol and Georgiana Houghton\u003c\/em\u003e, Mark Pilkington\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003eThe Dance of Death\u003c\/em\u003e, Kevin Pyle, A\u003cem\u003ert\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003eScience and the Changing Conventions of Anatomical Representation\u003c\/em\u003e, Michael Sappol\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003eSpiritualism and Photography\u003c\/em\u003e, Shannon Taggart\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003ePlaying with Dead Faces\u003c\/em\u003e, John Troyer\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003eAnatomy Embellished in the Cabinet of Frederik Ruysch\u003c\/em\u003e, Bert van de Roemer\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eEbenstein, Joanna:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003cstrong\u003eJoanna Ebenstein\u003c\/strong\u003e is the author of \u003cem\u003eThe Anatomical Venus\u003c\/em\u003e and cofounder of the Morbid Anatomy Museum in Brooklyn, New York.\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSelf, Will:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003cstrong\u003eWill Self\u003c\/strong\u003e is the acclaimed author of several novels, short story collections, and novellas. His books include \u003cem\u003eUmbrella, Great Apes, \u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003ePhone.\u003c\/em\u003e","brand":"Thames \u0026 Hudson","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50620683223314,"sku":"9780500519714","price":32.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_51825793-d21b-4139-bc2a-2a981b72dd9f.jpg?v=1732571237","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/death-a-graveside-companion-9780500519714","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}