How to Rub Cemetery Headstones
Many people will want to capture a rub image of a cemetery headstone. You’ll see people doing this in famous cemeteries or cemeteries with beautiful headstones. Some people want to memorialize a loved one at home without creating an expensive memorial, and a cemetery stone rub is an easy way to do this.
Rubbing cemetery headstones can be a very interesting pastime. It will preserve any inscriptions on older headstones and also show you unique symbols that have long been forgotten. You can learn a lot about the history of headstones and how people used to mourn their dead with this particular pastime.
What You’ll Need:
- Charcoal
- Scissors
- Soft Bristle Brush
- Masking Tape
- White Tracing Paper
- Speak with the cemetery that you are about to venture into. Some of them are privately owned so you should ask for their permission. You may also want to talk with a local official to ensure that it is okay. Once you have had permission to go in, make sure that headstone rubbing is allowed in this area.
- Look for a headstone that looks like it is sturdy and is upright. Avoid the headstones that do not look like they would survive a rubbing. Clean the headstone off by removing any moss or dirt from it. Use a soft bristle brush to do this and be gentle as you go. You may need to spray some water on the headstone to completely remove the debris. Give it time to dry before moving on.
- Hold the paper up to the front of the headstone and the cut it to the same size. Tape the paper to the headstone. Use rubbing wax, crayons or charcoal for the rubbing. Rub the outside parts of the headstone first and then fill in the rest of the tombstone. Clean up your mess once you are finished.