On a rainy September day I ventured into the machinery district on Keeler Avenue in Chicago. My agenda was to meet the grandson of the man who held the 1928 patent for the metal stamped casket handles you see pictured here. The aroma of oil that is unique to a machine shop filled the air. The old brick building was home to the same machines that made parts for Pratt & Whitney Wasp engines whose performance and reliability revolutionized American aviation in the 1930s.

Packed in a box, we found the original die stamps not used since 1948 and agreed on a price to make more of these Art Deco casket handles.

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