I imagine that the carver (I think one of the Worsters — still waiting for that Forbes book in the mail) felt the need to specify OS/NS because the change had taken place relatively recently. It's a little unusual for a mid-18th c. stone to specify a birth date (they usually just have the person's age), so perhaps the carver wanted to make sure that viewers would not be confused. This specificity may have been particularly important because the Josiah Gates was born and died in March, the month with the most muddled date conversions.Here Lies BuriedThe Body of JosiahGates Son of Mr JohnGates & Mrs Mary GatesWas Born March ye 241739 Old Stil & DiedMarch ye 30 1757New Stile
This stone inspired a question: how do other carvers handle Old Style/New Style conversions in the 1750s? What's the latest date you've ever seen written with OS/NS notation (i.e. 1737/8).
1 comment:
Hello, saw your old post. I know that gravestone to be carving by Worster., I think Moses Worster. I carved a larger, deeper relief replica of the face from the Samuel Green stone, 1759 Lexington Mass. Very cool style he had going for those years. I am stonemason and am currently training and educating myself in v-cut letters and the roman capitals and miniscules, saw the Worster stones in ,i think, (Tombstones of East Mass. From Slate to Marble: Gravestone Carving Traditions in Eastern Massachusetts 1770-1870) My record of books is a mess, sorry.
I'll have to explore your posts when I have a bit of free time, Keep up the good work
Cheers
G.
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