William Manson's Business Card

This detailed advertisement comes from the 1869 edition of the Albany city directory (where such ads are referred to as business cards).  It shows a variety of marble items offered by William Manson's establishment, including elegant fireplace mantles and a selection of funerary work.

There are quite a few examples of Manson's work in the Rural Cemetery, including the Col. Mills monument, the massive granite marking the Appleton lot, the Fireman's Monument on the North Ridge, the Thomas W. Olcott monument, and the beautiful marble sarcophagus marking the grave of Ellen Hardin (wife of President Chester Arthur). 

It's amusing to note that the business card for James Gazeley's Monumental Marble Works just a page or two away in the same 1869 directory features some of the same images as Manson's.  They apparently came from a set of ready-made printing dies used by the publisher and were essentially the clip art or stock images of the era.

James Gazeley

This granite cross stands high on the easternmost slope of the South Ridge near the Rural Cemetery's main lodge and office.  It marks the grave of James Gazeley, one of the most prominent manufacturers of monuments associated with this Cemetery.

Born in 1830, Gazeley's stoneworks were located right at the Cemetery; old maps of the grounds identify a large lot adjacent to the Cemetery near the barn complex and nearby Jermain family estate as Gazeley's property.  He also had an office at 163 Madison Avenue.

Gazeley was responsible for many monuments throughout the Cemetery, including the impressive granite Root and Visscher family vaults.  The Bayeux obelisk and David Zeh monument are early works by Gazeley.  The Samuel Pruyn headstone also bears his name.

After Gazeley's death in 1908, his company became Empire Granite.

Made By Dickerman

While photographing an adjacent headstone, the upside-down text on this one caught my eye.  Located near the bottom of the headstone, it reads Dickerman Albany.  This portion of the stone would've been most likely hidden by the earth when the stone stood upright.

A search of contemporary city directories shows that a stone-cutter by the name of Joel R. Dickerman had a shop at the corner of Westerlo and Green Streets.  His home was at 208 Lydius Street (now a block of Madison Avenue occupied by the New York State Museum).

I've found little information about this Andrew Briare, except that other members of his family were in the confectionery business.  In fact, a Mrs. Pearl S. Briare is listed as a confectioner at 124 Greene Street, just a few doors away from Dickerman's stone-cutting shop.