A heavily damaged stained glass window at Tamaqua’s oldest mausoleum has piqued the curiosity of a Philadelphia firm that might want to get involved.

The window, thought by some to be the work of design master Louis Comfort Tiffany, adorns the north wall of the 1894 Prichard Mausoleum in Odd Fellows Cemetery.

“I found a company from Philly that is willing to look at the stained glass window,” says volunteer Jody Kellner, owner of Tink’s Antiques, Tamaqua.

“He is offering to donate some of his resources and talent in restoration and repairs.”

The vandalized window measures about two feet by four feet. It depicts an angel holding a feather in one hand, symbol of ascension. The other arm points to the heavens, suggesting a connection to the Creator. The early work is a showcase of Neo-Classical Doric style.

If it turns out to be a commission work of renowned Louis Comfort Tiffany Studios, it may have inspired Tiffany’s later ‘Angel of the Resurrection’ window in Indianapolis, among others.

The damaged window is just one of several issues plaguing the marble and granite tomb, resting place of California Gold Rush entrepreneur John H. Prichard and his second wife Elizabeth.

Inside, granite floor tiles have lifted, preventing the access door from opening.

As a result, nobody has been able to get inside to perform routine maintenance.

Restoration of the window would be the first improvement in decades at the landmark, located at a main intersection of Grand Avenue, just west of the cemetery entrance.

“Once we get an estimate we will have to do a fundraiser,” says Kellner.

The mausoleum is considered very unusual in that the burial vaults are in full display on the mausoleum floor, as opposed to being buried or stored in the walls.

The Prichard Mausoleum is the earliest of 13 mausoleums adorning the elaborate Victorian garden cemetery, resting place for more than 16,000, or more than twice the population of the town.