[Colma, known around the world as the "cemetery town," (16 cemeteries) is  5 miles south of San Francisco, with about 1,100 residents — and 1.5 million souls].

Photographic tombstones originated in France in 1854 but were popularized and perfected by Italians....   Although the genre endures to this day, author Ron Horne in his book, "Forgotten Faces: A Window Into Our Immigrant Past", chose to focus on examples from the first half of the 20th century -- decades of heavy immigration.

He figures 25,000 to 35,000 images from that period have survived, but he says weather-induced decay and vandalism are taking a toll. Cemeteries in New York, Atlanta and Chicago -- the capital of memorial portraiture -- have many examples.

The book includes more than 350 photographs, two-thirds of them taken at Holy Cross and the Italian Cemetery in Colma, and is the first to explore memorial portraits in depth.Holy Cross'  284 acres is Colma's oldest and largest cemetery.

Horne found about 500 memorial portraits at Holy Cross, one of the largest collections in the country. It's among the best preserved. The 40-acre Italian Cemetery meanwhile, "represents the art form at its highest evolutionary point,"
but it is a lost art.

MEMORIAL PORTRAITS IN STONE
Working-class art left unforgettable faces from the past

San Francisco Chronicle
Patricia Yollin
Chronicle Staff Writer
Saturday, June 19, 2004

Five years ago, when Ron Horne was wandering around Holy Cross Cemetery in Colma... "I was so surprised," Horne said. "It stopped me in my tracks."

It was the first time he'd ever seen the ceramic memorial portraits... and his curiosity turned into a quest, resulting in "Forgotten Faces: A Window Into Our Immigrant Past." It includes more than 350 photographs, two-thirds of them taken at Holy Cross (just south of San Francisco) and the Italian Cemetery in Colma, and is the first to explore memorial portraits in depth. "It's art and history that has been neglected and overlooked and misunderstood, and yet it has so much life to it," said Horne, who hopes others will document the "ceramic secrets of the past" before they disappear completely.

He ended up immersing himself in the world of the living dead, hunting for facts and tidbits to flesh out these long-departed immigrants. "The face peering out from the stone invites curiosity about who that person was and how she lived and died," wrote Lisa Montanarelli, who did research for the book in newspaper archives. Roaming around Holy Cross, Horne acted as if he were introducing friends at a cocktail party.

Horne said photographic tombstones originated in France in 1854 but were popularized and perfected by Italians. The biggest fans of this working-class art form were southern Europeans, Jews from Eastern Europe and Latin Americans. Although the genre endures to this day, Horne chose to focus on examples from the first half of the 20th century -- decades of heavy immigration. He figures 25,000 to 35,000 images from that period have survived, but he says weather-induced decay and vandalism are taking a toll.

Cemeteries in New York, Atlanta and Chicago -- the capital of memorial portraiture -- have many examples. He found about 500 at Holy Cross, one of the largest collections in the country. It's among the best preserved and most diverse, with 28 nationalities represented. The 40-acre Italian Cemetery in Colma, meanwhile, "represents the art form at its highest evolutionary point," Horne said. Its 800 portraits from the early 20th century have the collective feel of a family -- "This is lost art," said Andrew Canepa, assistant manager of the Italian Cemetery. "Everywhere you look, there's a face staring back at you," Horne said.

There was Maria Belluomini, dead in 1903 at age 14, in her First Communion dress. Salvatore La Rocca, dead in 1920 at age 29, was decked out in a cowboy outfit. And Daniel La Verne, dead in 1941 at age 25, was wearing boxing gloves. There were Civil War veterans, police officers and wives without names. And there were twin boys, Gino and Aldo Baiocchi, who died in 1929 before their first birthday and were photographed after death.

In a review of an advanced copy of Horne's book, Gary Collison, editor of Markers: The Journal of the Association of Gravestone Studies, described it as "a stunning gallery of American life," which gives the reader "an Ellis Island experience."...
E-mail Patricia Yollin at pyollin@sfchronicle.com.

COLMA / Memorial portraits in stone / Working-class art left unforgettable faces from the past
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2004/06/19/BAGSP78J4P1.DTL