On a recent Autumn day, Andrea Rapacz navigates between high shelves laden with furniture, antique clothes and acid-free document boxes on a visit to the corpse preserver. “It’s a showstopper of piece, it’s really fascinating,” said Rapacz, the director of collections at the Connecticut Historical Society.
Rapacz dons blue nitrile gloves before approaching the corpse preserver, not because there’s a biohazard but because the coffin-like object is a rare artifact dating back to the 1870s. She carefully unscrews a brass fixture on the lid. Hinges swivel upward, opening a glass window onto the face of the dearly departed would lay. “It was designed to keep the body cool for a wake or funeral for however many hours or days are part of that memorial process,” said Cynthia Blum, Connecticut Historical Society spokesperson. “You can peel back parts of it and look in through a glass oval over the face.”
The walnut, coffin-shaped box is about twice as deep as a normal coffin or casket. Nested inside there’s a second, water-proof chamber made of galvanized steel. The body would be placed inside the steel chamber. Morticians or family members would pack the surrounding space with ice to chill the corpse. The exterior walls seal tightly, insulated with horsehair.
