You though most curious in other things, will hardly be perswaded to touch any thing that smells of the Coffin or of Embalming.“ ”The Haters of Funerals“ to whom John Dunton addressed these words in 16821 would seem to include scholars, for the beginnings of the modern trade of funeral undertaking have never been investigated. This paper attempts to fill in some measure this gap in social history, and as a corollary to explain the novelty, timeliness, justice, and development of Steele's satire on undertakers in The Funeral and The Taller.