One of the ash cans containing more than 5,000 patients at Oregon State Hospital.

Oregon State Hospital "had a policy, between 1912 to mid-1970’s, of cremating those who pass away at the hospital and storing their ashes in copper canisters, a very basic funeral urn. The hospital maintains custody of all the canisters that go unclaimed. Over time, due to the poor storage conditions and the canister’s materials of construction, many of the exterior surfaces of these copper urns have radically changed." - From http://thephotobook.wordpress.com/2009/07/06/david-maisel-library-of-dust/. Photo by David Maisel.

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