The early 1900s saw a lot of experimentation with coffins, including glass coffins that were vacuum sealed.
The following article was published in 1909 and describes the latest invention in the preservation of the body.
Coffin Made of Glass
Beeville, Tex., has an inventor, Dr. H. G. Becker, who has turned out the newest thing in coffins – a casket made of glass. The doctor perfected his coffin 19 years ago, but was never able to obtain a satisfactory preserving fluid. For 13 years he had a man in Egypt trying to fathom the secret process used in preserving the old mummies. This agent learned the language, secured a bottle of fluid that was analyzed, and this formula is now used, Dr. Becker claiming to be the only one outside of Egypt who knows the formula.
The glass of which the coffin is made is mixed with lead, the lead first being given chemical treatment which makes it stand the necessary heat to which the glass is subjected during the molding process.
This discovery, according to Dr. Becker, is most valuable, giving glass four times its strength. The glass thus treated is made of a grayish hue and not easily transparent. The coffin is the shape of a bottle, with one side flat. When the body is slipped in feet first the head is left directly under a transparent portion of the glass. The end is sealed by screwing in a glass stopper securely. This done, the air pump is used, all air being pumped out. The vacuum thus created forms a power of sufficient strength to pull the stopper from the bottle containing the liquid, which, when liberated, forms a preserving gas. Dr. Becker claims the body will stay preserved forever.
Source: Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]), 15 Oct. 1909.
