Gertrude died in 1890 and was buried in Austria. As was common back then, they buried her in the church graveyard, let her mold out. They painted her up real pretty and they put her in an ossuary where she's supposed to spend the rest of her days. Well, it didn't work out that way for old, Gertrude. Unfortunately, phrenology became real, real big at the time. To be a phrenologist, to be a real good one, you had to have a real skull. If you were the only phrenologist in town and you stole a skull, you were going to get busted. So, long story long, they'd break into these crypts, steal the skulls, make a plastic cast of it, paint it up and replace it. This is Gertrude's replacement skull. It's actually much more rare than a real skull-certainly much more expensive.
So begins Greg Christiano’s invitation to explore his eclectic collection housed under TearDrop Memories. “It’s not your mother’s antique shop”, he continues in his signature storytelling tone. Appropriately, TearDrop Memories is a unique antique store with a funerary bent located in the historic town of New Hope, Pennsylvania.
The treasures of TearDrop Memories have been placed in the Smithsonian and Getty museums as well as being featured in prop displays at Saks 5th Av, I.B.M. Bill Blass, Victoria’s Secret and Vogue. Customers are a diverse group ranging from installation artist Hernan Bas and Bucks county Painter Larry Chestnut to The Hartz Mountain Group and The Kingdom Of Morocco. TearDrop Memories also specializes in Victorian bird cages which make an appearance in Salma Hayek's film; Cirque du Freak.
Photos by Optivion
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