M.M.White undertaker WashingtonDC Matthias M. White undertaker of Washington , DC Fisk and Raymond metallic coffins

Death, Burial and Iron Coffins How Almond Dunbar Fisk’s invention revolutionized death’s place in American life. 

By Scott Warnasch

 Iron coffins are fascinating artifacts of a time when friction between technology and tradition created a spiritual crisis in the early days of the United States. They’re also a great example of how the unintended effects of one invention can beget new and seemingly unrelated inventions and even new industries. Iron coffins were created to mitigate some of the negative effects of long-distance steam transportation on a traditionally sedentary society. The benefits of steam travel are many and obvious; however, there were also downsides that began to seep into the most personal corners of American life. One unintended consequence was that steam travel enabled unprecedented numbers of people to head out, die and be buried by strangers far from home. read on PBS