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Reading Gravestones

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  • Reading Gravestones

    After establishing the grave whereabouts of an ancestor I today visited the graveyard.
    I found the grave and a gravestone but the writing was so worn that I could not read it.
    Does anyone have any good tried and tested ideas for making what is left of the writing stand out so that it becomes legible.

  • #2
    Would the old primary school method of paper and crayon/chalk be any use? Craig

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    • #3
      Sometimes a fine spray of plain water will help to show up the lettering.

      Another idea....Take a torch. Casting a light from different directions sometimes helps.

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      • #4
        Yes, I would try a 'rubbing' with a thin piece of paper and a soft lead pencil or crayon.
        Margaret

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        • #5
          The local FHS may have the MI available in booklet or cd format, they may also have a copy available at the local library.


          Depending if you have access to a digital camare or not you could also try and take several photographs, try from the side to catch any carved letters at an angle (they are clearer that way).

          If the camera (or software programme) allows you to overexpose the picture you can often pick out even very faded carved characters that are difficult to see with the naked eye in normal exposures.
          http://www.flickr.com/photos/50125734@N06/

          Joseph Goulson 1701-1780
          My sledging hammer lies declined, my bellows too have lost their wind
          My fire's extinct, my forge decay'd, and in the dust my vice is laid

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          • #6
            One thing I have done is to run my finger over the lettering - you can actually feel what you can't see. Sounds odd, I know, but I have found it useful.
            Elizabeth
            Research Interests:
            England:Purkis, Stilwell, Quintrell, White (Surrey - Guildford), Jeffcoat, Bond, Alexander, Lamb, Newton (Lincolnshire, Stalybridge, London)
            Scotland:Richardson (Banffshire), Wishart (Kincardineshire), Johnston (Kincardineshire)

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            • #7
              There's another good idea on this website, using a mirror.

              Reading Gravestone Inscriptions
              Daphne

              Looking for Northey, Goodfellow, Jobes, Heal, Lilburn, Curry, Gay, Carpenter, Johns, Harris, Vigus from Cornwall, Somerset, Durham, Northumberland, Cumberland, USA, Australia.

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              • #8
                A water spray directed at an angle.
                Photographs taken when the light is shining from the side.
                Talcum powder shaken across the stone.

                It's amazing what improvements can be made. I have managed to read stones that apparently didn't have any words on them at all!!

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                • #9
                  I have had some sucess by turning the digital picture into a negative - for some reason it makes things clearer!
                  Helen
                  Support the S.O.P.H.I.E. campaign, Stamp Out Predudice Hatred + Intolerance Everywhere.

                  Visit the website at http://www.sophielancasterfoundation.com/index1.html

                  http://www.illamasqua.com/about/sophie/

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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by Helen Henderson View Post
                    I have had some sucess by turning the digital picture into a negative - for some reason it makes things clearer!
                    That;'s the other one i was trying to remember
                    http://www.flickr.com/photos/50125734@N06/

                    Joseph Goulson 1701-1780
                    My sledging hammer lies declined, my bellows too have lost their wind
                    My fire's extinct, my forge decay'd, and in the dust my vice is laid

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      apparently shaving foam works well......

                      I havent tried it personally, but others have and said it worked.
                      Julie
                      They're coming to take me away haha hee hee..........

                      .......I find dead people

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                      • #12
                        Thank you all for your ideas I will try them all and see what becomes legible.

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                        • #13
                          Take a loo roll & look down it, holding it close to the stone, so light is striking the stone obliquely.

                          Do not use anything abrasive on the stone or (as I did) attempt to pull off ivy & instead pull off the surface!

                          I find it amazing that a stone which I had given up as illegible (though perfectly readable a few years earlier) gave up its secrets to a cousin's digital camera. But of course she didn't even know about the stone I had wantonly destroyed:o
                          Phoenix - with charred feathers
                          Researching Skillings from Norfolk, Sworn from Salisbury and Adams in Malborough, Devon.

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                          • #14
                            Originally posted by Darksecretz View Post
                            apparently shaving foam works well......

                            I havent tried it personally, but others have and said it worked.
                            That is a big no no for old grave stones.

                            The site I mentioned says the following,

                            CGN recommends that you learn to use a mirror (see below...) to light a stone that is in the shade or is difficult to read. Reflecting the sun with a mirror can create shadows in the lettering to add contrast. In general, highlighting the lettering with chalk (which is an abrasive), or any other method, is not recommended. Do NOT use shaving cream because adding chemicals to the stone can have other deteriorating effects. Chalk has dyes in it, shaving cream at best has oils, flour equals yeast which is a medium for lichen growth. Waiting for the rain to wash off anything that you put on it is not a responsible action. The stone should NOT be damaged by your use of it. A mirror is always safe and helps to produce a great photograph.
                            Daphne

                            Looking for Northey, Goodfellow, Jobes, Heal, Lilburn, Curry, Gay, Carpenter, Johns, Harris, Vigus from Cornwall, Somerset, Durham, Northumberland, Cumberland, USA, Australia.

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