author
Auguste Renouard
1839–1912
Best known for a practical 1878 guide to embalming, this little-known writer helped shape early funeral-service literature in the United States. His work stands out for its clear, hands-on approach to a profession that was rapidly changing in the late nineteenth century.
1 Audiobook
The undertakers' manual
by Auguste Renouard
About the author
Born in 1839 and dying in 1912, Auguste Renouard is chiefly remembered as the author of The Undertakers' Manual, first published in 1878. The book presented detailed advice on the preservation of bodies and the practice of undertaking, and it became one of the early recognizable texts in American embalming literature.
Renouard is often described in later historical sources as an important figure in the development of embalming instruction in the United States. Modern references connect him with early embalming education and with efforts to professionalize funeral work, which helps explain why his name still appears in histories of the field.
For readers today, his writing offers a direct window into nineteenth-century practical medicine, funeral customs, and trade knowledge. Even when approached as a historical document rather than a modern manual, his best-known book remains a revealing record of how technical skill and public service were understood in its time.