An elegant advertisement for Robert Brookhouse, a goldsmith and jeweler once located on Essex Street in Salem, reflects the artistry of 19th-century design. Below it, a plaque discusses the cultural shift in funeral practices during the 1800s, highlighting the emergence of the mortician profession and the transition from elaborate rituals to simpler traditions. It notes that John H. Neal, a former sexton, became one of Salem’s earliest documented undertakers, starting around 1857.
