--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To The Undertaker or Friends Who Open…" description: "\"“To The Undertaker or Friends Who Open This Coffin: After laying back the lid of the coffin, remove entirely the pads from the sides of the face, as th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8d/edison-mcdaniels-53238_civil-war_to-the-undertaker-or-friends-who-open-th_1560985.jpg" --- # To The Undertaker or Friends Who Open This Coffin: After… ![“To The Undertaker or Friends Who Open This Coffin: After laying back the lid of the coffin, remove entirely the pads from the sides of the face, as they are intended merely to steady the head in traveling. If there be any discharge of liquid from the eyes, nose, or mouth, which often occurs from…” quote by Edison McDaniels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8d/edison-mcdaniels-53238_civil-war_to-the-undertaker-or-friends-who-open-th_1560985.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8d/edison-mcdaniels-53238_civil-war_to-the-undertaker-or-friends-who-open-th_1560985.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8d/edison-mcdaniels-53238_civil-war_to-the-undertaker-or-friends-who-open-th_1560985.jpg) > ““To The Undertaker or Friends Who Open This Coffin: After laying back the lid of the coffin, remove entirely the pads from the sides of the face, as they are intended merely to steady the head in traveling. If there be any discharge of liquid from the eyes, nose, or mouth, which often occurs from the constant shaking of the cars, wipe it off gently with a soft piece of cotton cloth, slightly moistened. This body was received by us for embalmment in a \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ condition and the natural condition is \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ preserved. Embalming was/was not possible. After removing the coffin lid, leave it off for some time and let the body have the air. Dr. Jupiter Jones, Embalmer & Keeper of the Dead”” [Edison McDaniels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edison-mcdaniels/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The instructions detail careful handling of a corpse to preserve dignity and prevent damage during transport and embalming **In simple terms:** Handle the dead respectfully, keep the face clean, allow air exposure before embalming Key Takeaway Treat the body with care and respect Themes mortuary procedural respect preservation Mood somber clinical Type instructional procedural When to use this quote - funeral homes - mortuary workers - transport of bodies - pre-embalming preparation Key Concepts embalming post-mortem care dignity Questions to Reflect On - How does respectful handling affect grieving families? - What are the limits of preservation in extreme conditions? A Different Perspective If the body is already decomposed, these steps may be insufficient ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Civil war](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civil-war/) [Coffin Lid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coffin-lid-2233858/) [Coffin Remove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coffin-remove-5855815/) [Lid Coffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lid-coffin-5855813/) [Open Coffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/open-coffin-769745/) [Removing Coffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/removing-coffin-5855814/) ## Related quotes > [Someday, IF you are lucky enough to see me in an open coffin; expect to witness my legs twitching. GAS](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-shoop/someday-if-you-are-lucky-enough-to-see-me-in-an-open-coffin-expect-to/) [Gary Shoop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-shoop/) > [“Death is only attractive in a fashionable dress, with lilies and an open coffin.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-l-sullivan/death-is-only-attractive-in-a-fashionable-dress-with-lilies-and-an/) [Laura L. Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-l-sullivan/) > [“If you’re going to murder me, don’t fuck with my face,” I said. “I want an open coffin at my funeral.” “No deal,” he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tarryn-fisher/if-you-re-going-to-murder-me-don-t-fuck-with-my-face-i-said-i-want-an/) [Tarryn Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tarryn-fisher/) > [When my mother died, we had the coffin at home. Like, old-school - you have the coffin at home so all the people can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tricky/when-my-mother-died-we-had-the-coffin-at-home-like-old-school-you/) [Tricky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tricky/) > [The consumer's side of the coffin lid is never ostentatious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanislaw-jerzy-lec/the-consumer-s-side-of-the-coffin-lid-is-never-ostentatious/) [Stanislaw Jerzy Lec](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanislaw-jerzy-lec/) > [I got the sexton, who was digging Linton’s grave, to remove the earth off her coffin lid, and I opened it. I thought, once,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/i-got-the-sexton-who-was-digging-linton-s-grave-to-remove-the-earth/) [Emily Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) > [If you don't have humour, then you may as well nail the coffin lid down now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-moore/if-you-don-t-have-humour-then-you-may-as-well-nail-the-coffin-lid/) [Roger Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-moore/) > [In the days when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-coren/in-the-days-when-the-keepers-of-the-house-shall-tremble-and-the/) [Alan Coren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-coren/) > [“Coffin,why no lid? Too antiseptic for Hell, and could the roof of heaven really be made of gray metal?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-davidson/coffin-why-no-lid-too-antiseptic-for-hell-and-could-the-roof-of/) [Andrew Davidson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-davidson/) > [Fame is but an inscription on a grave, and glory the melancholy blazon on a coffin lid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-smith/fame-is-but-an-inscription-on-a-grave-and-glory-the-melancholy-blazon/) [Alexander Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-smith/) > [“I went to visit my dad. He didn’t say a word to me. Or if he did, I couldn’t hear it through the grass,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-went-to-visit-my-dad-he-didn-t-say-a-word-to-me-or-if-he-did-i/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“These are all good things, I said. But no one knows where your country is or who you are. You don't have a familiar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-shteyngart/these-are-all-good-things-i-said-but-no-one-knows-where-your-country/) [Gary Shteyngart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-shteyngart/) > [“AUSTRALIA, LIKE THE UNITED STATES, experienced a different path to inclusive institutions than the one taken by England. The same revolutions that shook England…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daron-acemo-lu/australia-like-the-united-states-experienced-a-different-path-to/) [Daron Acemoğlu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daron-acemo-lu/) > [“Whatever happened in those more than one hundred years, from the time my great-great-great grandfather studied law to the time when my own father…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwenn-wright/whatever-happened-in-those-more-than-one-hundred-years-from-the-time/) [Gwenn Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwenn-wright/) > [“Time overlaps itself. A breath breathed from a passing breeze is not the whole wind, neither is it just the last of what has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-kesey/time-overlaps-itself-a-breath-breathed-from-a-passing-breeze-is-not/) [Ken Kesey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-kesey/) ## More by Edison McDaniels > [“A large piece of lead floated out of Bobby head, followed by dark chunks of what could only be pieces of Bobby's brain. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edison-mcdaniels/a-large-piece-of-lead-floated-out-of-bobby-head-followed-by-dark/) [Edison McDaniels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edison-mcdaniels/) > [“Hundreds of men crowded the yard, and not a one among them was whole. They covered the ground thick as maggots on a week…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edison-mcdaniels/hundreds-of-men-crowded-the-yard-and-not-a-one-among-them-was-whole/) [Edison McDaniels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edison-mcdaniels/) > [“The evening was a string of miserable minutes strung together in tiny clusters. Three minutes for a man shot through the shoulder; Ellis put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edison-mcdaniels/the-evening-was-a-string-of-miserable-minutes-strung-together-in-tiny/) [Edison McDaniels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edison-mcdaniels/) > [“I had seen that once before, bleeding water. A little baby I worked on as a resident in training. That poor kid had been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edison-mcdaniels/i-had-seen-that-once-before-bleeding-water-a-little-baby-i-worked-on/) [Edison McDaniels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edison-mcdaniels/) > [“There are monsters among us. I mean this quite literally.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edison-mcdaniels/there-are-monsters-among-us-i-mean-this-quite-literally/) [Edison McDaniels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edison-mcdaniels/) [Explore all 6 Edison McDaniels quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edison-mcdaniels/) ## More Civil war quotes > [“Time overlaps itself. A breath breathed from a passing breeze is not the whole wind, neither is it just the last of what has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-kesey/time-overlaps-itself-a-breath-breathed-from-a-passing-breeze-is-not/) [Ken Kesey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-kesey/) > [“Whatever happened in those more than one hundred years, from the time my great-great-great grandfather studied law to the time when my own father…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwenn-wright/whatever-happened-in-those-more-than-one-hundred-years-from-the-time/) [Gwenn Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwenn-wright/) > [“AUSTRALIA, LIKE THE UNITED STATES, experienced a different path to inclusive institutions than the one taken by England. The same revolutions that shook England…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daron-acemo-lu/australia-like-the-united-states-experienced-a-different-path-to/) [Daron Acemoğlu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daron-acemo-lu/) > [“These are all good things, I said. But no one knows where your country is or who you are. You don't have a familiar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-shteyngart/these-are-all-good-things-i-said-but-no-one-knows-where-your-country/) [Gary Shteyngart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-shteyngart/) > [“Thinking about the weather was one way of shutting out of his mind the appalling bloody human mess sprawled out over the bed of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-ellis/thinking-about-the-weather-was-one-way-of-shutting-out-of-his-mind/) [Mark Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-ellis/) > [It cost about 75 cents to kill a man in Ceasar's time. The price rose to about $3,000 per man during the Napoleonic wars;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer-bone/it-cost-about-75-cents-to-kill-a-man-in-ceasar-s-time-the-price-rose/) [Homer Bone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer-bone/) > [Alabama soldiers, all I ask of you is to keep up with the Texans!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-e-lee/alabama-soldiers-all-i-ask-of-you-is-to-keep-up-with-the-texans/) [Robert E. Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-e-lee/) > [“ “In the South, football is confused with religion, chivalry, the Civil War, and women.” -Diane Roberts, The Quotable South ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-ford/in-the-south-football-is-confused-with-religion-chivalry-the-civil/) [Deborah Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-ford/) > [“By the following morning, September 15, Jackson had positioned nearly fifty guns on Maryland Heights and at the base of Loudoun Heights.  Then he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-river-editors/by-the-following-morning-september-15-jackson-had-positioned-nearly/) [Charles River Editors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-river-editors/) > [Strange, (is it not?) that battles, martyrs, blood, even assassination should so condense - perhaps only really lastingly condense - a Nationality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/strange-is-it-not-that-battles-martyrs-blood-even-assassination/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [You must study to be frank with the world: frankness is the child of honesty and courage. Say just what you mean to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-e-lee/you-must-study-to-be-frank-with-the-world-frankness-is-the-child-of/) [Robert E. Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-e-lee/) > [“Civil wars...are the best wars for the writer...because they have a way of continuing long afterwl wars between nations are resolved; because, with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-ellison/civil-wars-are-the-best-wars-for-the-writer-because-they-have-a-way/) [Ralph Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-ellison/) > [I am out of money,we are all out of money,but we dont need money down here- Dont need anything but Men , Muskets, Ammunition,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-connolly/i-am-out-of-money-we-are-all-out-of-money-but-we-dont-need-money-down/) [James A. Connolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-connolly/) > [Affirmative action was designed to recognize the uniquely difficult journey of African-Americans. This policy was justifiable and understandable, even to those who came from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-webb/affirmative-action-was-designed-to-recognize-the-uniquely-difficult/) [Jim Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-webb/) > [“Only twenty - nine years in the entire human history had been without warfare, and now here he was too, travelling between the episodes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadeem-aslam/only-twenty-nine-years-in-the-entire-human-history-had-been-without/) [Nadeem Aslam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadeem-aslam/) [Browse all 1,714 Civil war quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civil-war/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“To The Undertaker or Friends Who Open This Coffin: After laying back the lid of the coffin, remove entirely the pads from the sides of the face, as they are intended merely to steady the head in traveling. If there be any discharge of liquid from the eyes, nose, or mouth, which often occurs from the constant shaking of the cars, wipe it off gently with a soft piece of cotton cloth, slightly moistened. This body was received by us for embalmment in a ____________ condition and the natural condition is ____________ preserved. Embalming was/was not possible. After removing the coffin lid, leave it off for some time and let the body have the air. Dr. Jupiter Jones, Embalmer & Keeper of the Dead”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Edison McDaniels" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edison-mcdaniels/to-the-undertaker-or-friends-who-open-this-coffin-after-laying-back/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Civil war" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edison-mcdaniels/to-the-undertaker-or-friends-who-open-this-coffin-after-laying-back/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8d/edison-mcdaniels-53238_civil-war_to-the-undertaker-or-friends-who-open-th_1560985.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8d/edison-mcdaniels-53238_civil-war_to-the-undertaker-or-friends-who-open-th_1560985.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8d/edison-mcdaniels-53238_civil-war_to-the-undertaker-or-friends-who-open-th_1560985.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“To The Undertaker or Friends Who Open This Coffin: After laying back the lid of the coffin, remove entirely…” — Edison McDaniels", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Edison McDaniels", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edison-mcdaniels/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“To The Undertaker or Friends Who...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edison-mcdaniels/to-the-undertaker-or-friends-who-open-this-coffin-after-laying-back/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edison-mcdaniels/to-the-undertaker-or-friends-who-open-this-coffin-after-laying-back/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```