Grave Dispatches No. 001: Frank & Annie Packard

Grave Dispatches No. 001 begins with a gravestone that gives almost nothing away.

Frank and Annie Packard lived lives far more colorful than their memorial suggests. Together, they became part of the world of 19th-century tattooing and entertainment, performing professionally at a time when tattooed bodies were still considered a spectacle. Their story moves through circus culture, family, grief, travel, and the early American tattoo trade.

This was the story that inspired the very first Grave Dispatch.

Originally created as the September edition of Grave Dispatches: The Founding Season, Dispatch No. 001 is now available as a limited single issue for those who missed the full season or want to begin collecting from the start.

What’s included

Your September Grave Dispatch includes:

• An original researched story from A Grave Affair
• A collectible Memorial Card featuring Frank and Annie’s memorial, cemetery information, and graveside location
• Historical photograph and reproduced ephemera connected to their lives
• Story-specific collectible materials

Each Dispatch is designed to be read, explored, displayed, saved, or tucked into your own collection of cemetery and historical ephemera.

Why September?

Dispatch No. 001 was originally released in recognition of National Tattoo Story Day on September 16th, a fitting occasion for a story about two people whose tattoos became an important part of how they lived, worked, and were seen by the world around them.

About Grave Dispatches

Grave Dispatches is a physical storytelling series from A Grave Affair, created for cemetery wanderers, history lovers, genealogists, taphophiles, public historians, curious travelers, and anyone who has ever stopped at a gravestone and wondered:

Who were you?

Each Dispatch begins with a grave and follows the story wherever the research leads.

Shipping

This is a physical product. U.S. shipping is included in the $22.99 purchase price.

Dispatch No. 001 is available only while remaining copies last.

Grave Dispatches explores real people, places, and events through cemetery history. Because these are true stories, individual dispatches may occasionally touch on sensitive historical subjects, including death, violence, illness, or other difficult circumstances. Historical documents, photographs, ephemera, and other materials included in a dispatch may be reproductions when original materials are unavailable or impractical to include. Some materials may also be resized, reformatted, excerpted, or otherwise adapted for presentation while remaining faithful to the historical source.