Deathmasks

It was the tradition for many centuries for death masks to be made of monarchs, artists and politicians in the time directly after their demise.

One of the most extensive on-line sites on deathmasks is Undying Faces. Well worth a look.
Here, from that site, is a gerat shot of a death mask in progress...

“New York circa 1908. Making a plaster death mask. View full size. 8×10 glass negative, George Grantham Bain Collection, Library of Congress.” 
Credit for this and many excellent historical photos, visit:
http://www.shorpy.com/node/3430

Here are some deathmasks of some famous Soviet personalities by sculptor Sergei Merkulov.

Above: Vladimir Ilyich Lenin (22 April 1870 – 21 January 1924)

The sister of Lenin.

Krupskaya, Lenin’s wife.

Chkalov, the famous Soviet aviator.

Gorky, the famous Soviet writer.

Mayakovsky, the famous Soviet poet.

Frunze, on of the best Soviet commander-in-chiefs of the civil war (1918—1922).

Eizeinshtein, the world-wide famous Soviet movie producer.

This YouTube video with music shows many more non-Soviet masks.

Other websites which feature deathmasks include:

Death Masks of the Famous

20 Death Masks Of Famous People

John Dillinger