- The couch embalming board.
- The slumber robe, and face cover.
- A rubber or oil cloth cover for the board.
- A suit case grip, or hand bag.
- Concentrated fluid (at least 4 bottles).
- One or two empty 64-oz. bottles (for mixing fluid).
- One bottle for blood drainage.
- One injecting outfit (pump, tubes, etc.)
- One blood drainage outfit.
- One instrument wallet, containing:—
- 2 scalpels, 1 bone separator, 2 aneurism needles, 1 spool linen thread, 1 grooved director, 3 arterial tubes (assorted diameters), 1 bistoury, 1 lock forceps, 1 spring forceps, 1 artery forceps, 1 case needles, 1 6-inch child's trocar, 1 12 or 14-inch trocar, 1 chin rest, 1 hypodermic outfit, 1 roll absorbent cotton, 1 sponge, 1 box face powder, 1 nail file, 1 hair brush, 1 bottle bichloride of mercury tablets, 1 shaving outfit.
For special cases it would be well to have on hand the following articles:—
- 1 small can plaster of paris.
- 1 tube lip cement.
- 2 rubber bandages.
- 1 can hardening compound.
- 1 bottle Platt's chlorides or any other good deodorant.
- 1 outfit of formalin and permanganate of potash, or any other standard gaseous germicide preparation for fumigating.
- 1 small bottle of tincture of iodine as a preventive to infection should you cut yourself.
After the outfit has been found correct for the case at hand, place everything in the conveyance, and leave for the house. Upon arriving at the house, enter alone and meet the member or members of the family who have been delegated to talk to you. At this time it will be well to ascertain the position of the body, the wishes of the family in reference to where the body is to be placed after embalming and to where the body is to rest in the casket until the time of the funeral.
If you meet with any objection as to embalming, it will be well for you to consider the sanitary aspect of the case in speaking to those interested. In this case the sanitary aspect should always take precedence over the preservative aspect, since you can count on the assistance of the physicians in supporting embalming on that account. Should your wishes be overruled after you have presented the facts in the matter, it would be well for you to place the entire responsibility for the condition of the body upon the family, since without embalming you are unable to know the final condition of the body, and should not be held responsible for it regardless of what the condition may be in that case.
After this short talk with the family, return to your conveyance and carry your outfit to the room of death. Everything that you carry should be properly covered, as there is nothing quite as indecorous as the display of an embalming board without a cover. When you have placed the outfit in the room, call for everything that you will need from the family, which will include such things as a pail, warm water, soap, towels, etc. Do all of this before touching the body; and after securing all the necessary items, close the door, and do not open it again until the work has been completed.
Should unforeseen circumstances cause you to re-open the door, present yourself with a coat on, and never, under any circumstances, appear before any one in your shirt sleeves, as that is another indecorous procedure. After the preservation has been completed, dust a little face powder on the face and hands, to remove the moist, clammy appearance which may have been left on those parts. Place the undergarments on the body and then any other garments which may have been given to you by the family. Cover the body with the slumber robe, and then call in as many members of the family as may wish to view the body, asking them to criticize your work. Before calling in the family it would be well to put everything out of sight and not have any grips open.
If favorable comment is heard from the family, your work is done for the time being. If unfavorable comment is heard, ascertain the cause of the comment and do not leave the house until the proper appearance has been secured. If your work has been pleasing to the family, you can rest assured that the case is a success and that you have done your work well. When you are satisfied in your own mind that all is well with the body, make arrangements for the selection of the casket, and then retire from the house. If the door decoration has not been placed in position before you leave, you will place it in position yourself.
Some funeral directors set the time for the funeral during the first call, and some wait until later. The same for the other arrangements, such as newspaper notices, minister, singers, church or chapel services, number of conveyances, etc. Whatever method you choose to use in your community should be carried out systematically so that at no time, will anything be left undone to cause confusion at some inopportune time.