I am not Mary, but I will answer. Shaving cream contains ingredients that
can etch the stone or cause it to crumble. We had a discussion on the list many
years ago about the best ways to read the tombstones, and especially for
photographing them. The best suggestion that was tried and true and didn't harm
the stone was to shine a flashlight or reflect the sunlight with a mirror
across the stone while someone takes the photo.
Julia French Wood

In a message dated 6/26/2005 4:19:23 P.M. Central Daylight Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:

Mary,

For those of us who are uninformed, please explain your  concern regarding
the shaving cream.  I've seen headstones where the  engraving is very poor.
I've always wondered what could be used to enhance  these headstones so we
could get information from them.  Now is my  opportunity to find out.

Thank  you,

Chris.




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