“I think this is the first tombstone that as far as I know the letters where painted.”
I cut inscriptions for a living and I’ve seen it many times and actually have a price for painting letters (as well as gold leafing). In the case of this marble monument sporting hand cut chisled letters; they would be hardly legible without black paint.
Yeah I dug up about a dozen tomb stones about two years ago, from a forgoten family cemetary. Most of the deaths were around the civil war time. Only a few were still there in the open, the rest had either been knock down or fallen down, the ones that fell down face up were still worn and you could hardly read them. But the ones that fell face down were almost just like new as far as the curvings went. I don't know if they were knocked down on purpose or just the earth and wind knock them down.
What type of paint would you use to paint the letters?