Cast-iron gate, probably for cemetery, with name "Henry Reinhardt, 1891." This gate was originally located on a lot in Lutheran Cemetery in Queens, New York. It features scrolls, flowers, and fruit with architectural motifs including flanking twisted columns with Corinthian capitals and arched top and bottom rails. This gate design patented by Henry Faller of Middle Village in Queens, Assignor to John Timmes, of Brooklyn, New York May 31, 1881 as a “Renaissance” gate. Renaissance Revival style was a popular style of the Victorian era in the United States. It emerged as early as the 1840s and experienced renewed interest in 1890s. Renaissance Revival was a continuation of the Neoclassicism of the early nineteenth century and was vaguely related to actual objects from the Renaissance period. Renaissance Revival motifs included scrolling foliage called rinceaux, fruit garlands, masks, satyrs, egg-and-dart decoration, friezes, putti, armorial shields, palmettes, scrolls, grotesques, lions, water plant motifs, anthemia, oval medallions, bosses and strapwork, dolphins, Caryatid figures, and architectural elements such as columns, pilasters, pediments, and cornices.
Renaissance Revival style was a popular style of the Victorian era in the United States. It emerged as early as the 1840s and experienced renewed interest in 1890s. Renaissance Revival was a continuation of the Neoclassicism of the early nineteenth century and was vaguely related to actual objects from the Renaissance period. Renaissance Revival motifs included scrolling foliage called rinceaux, fruit garlands, masks, satyrs, egg-and-dart decoration, friezes, putti, armorial shields, palmettes, scrolls, grotesques, lions, water plant motifs, anthemia, oval medallions, bosses and strapwork, dolphins, Caryatid figures, and architectural elements such as columns, pilasters, pediments, and cornices.
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Cemeteries held a very important place in the lives of nineteenth century Americans. Rural cemeteries—such as Mount Auburn, organized in Boston in 1831 and Spring Grove in Cincinnati, Ohio, founded in 1845—were an integral part of American life. Cemeteries were beautifully landscaped and functioned much like a park. These retreats offered escape from the unpleasant conditions of the growing industrial centers. Families often planned special days, including a picnic, which were spent with their dear departed loved ones. The gravesites were elaborately landscaped and fitted out with furniture, fencing, and other accessories such as urns and statuary. Many of these pieces were the same designs and acquired from the same sources as the pieces chosen for the lawn and conservatory. Furniture manufacturers found a profitable market selling their wares as memorials. Identical styles were advertised and sold to furnish cemetery plots.
By the middle of the nineteenth century, fencing was often used to surround a plot or group of plots from one family, and they were paired with elaborate gates. Cemetery gates were both functional and decorative and were adorned with all the symbols of loss and mourning or fashionable revival style motifs of the Victorian age. The name of the family or person was immortalized in iron on the plot enclosures next to symbolic elements and decorative motifs. Cast iron was a popular material for these due to its durability, affordability, and the decorative possibilities of these pieces. It was usually paired with an iron fence; however, it was not unheard of to find cast iron gates with wood or stone fencing.
