I think I read that the bike phot was in fact faked but the gravestone photo is a common occurence here in the big NYC cemeteries. Granite with polish and raised letter like that one go back 160 yrs or more. In Baron Hirsch cemetery on Staten Isl you can see stones high up in the branches of trees.
No, granite was not the material of choice anywhere for markers until at earliest c1880 when it really broke through; some are marble but that usually wears more than granite. Not until 1900 was granite absolutely ubiquitous for new burials, and basically meant every stone became a huge block no matter head or family or foot stone. It also meant much less inscription since it was tough to cut and thus, very expensive. Thus we have less interesting stones than the true old days of limestone, brownstone and slate.
But, I lose track of time nd cannot believe we are almost 20 years into this century, so maybe I’m losing track of how much time has passed since then!