Forgotten Faces is the first book to present photo-ceramic memorial portraits as an honored art form. A memorial portrait is a photograph displayed on a tombstone, portraying the deceased as he or she appeared in life. At the family's behest, an artisan fashioned a photograph from gold, platinum and iridium alloys and fired it onto an enamel surface. A portrait made in this way can survive in a cemetery for well over 100 years. The samples in this collection date from 1899 to 1945 and include images of immigrants from 28 nations.
Photographs, Story and Text by Ron Horne
Introduction, History and Culture by Lisa Montanarelli

In 1999 photographer Ron Horne met the eyes of 11-year-old Louise Bajada. He stumbled upon her 70-year-old portrait on a tombstone in Holy Cross Cemetery, located in Colma California. Louise died in 1928 but her face personalizes the grave and gives life to her stone. --Lisa Montanarelli.
Louise's portrait once included another person. Can you find the clues?

CLICK ON ANY PICTURE TO SEE A ENLARGED CLOSE-UP. CLICK AGAIN TO NAVIGATE.
- All photographs © Ronald William Horne, 2003 -
>THIS IS PAGE 1 OF 3, GO TO BOTTOM TO SELECT PAGE<

Twenty-eight different nationalities are represented in the 500 memorial portraits from this era confirming America is a nation of many nations.

Benjamin G. Root 1898 - 1926
Officer Root, a member of the San Francisco Police Department, died in a motorcycle accident in the line of duty. Root's loved ones chose a photo of the policeman posing on his motorcycle in a San Francisco city-scape.

Benjamin G. Root 1898 - 1926
Officer Root, a member of the San Francisco Police Department, died in a motorcycle accident in the line of duty. Root's loved ones chose a photo of the policeman posing on his motorcycle in a San Francisco city-scape.