Victorian Hair Craft and Mementos
An exhibit exploring the Victorian custom of crafting keepsakes and jewelry from human hair as sentimental mementos of loved ones.
The name of the era came of course from Queen Victoria (1819-1901) who was the second longest ruling monarch in British history after Queen Elizabeth. The Victorians were extremely sentimental and family oriented. Many families were large and wanted special tokens of their loved ones. The use of hair was not considered odd or morbid as death was far more prominent then with mortality rates of infants and people felled by illnesses that had no cures yet. Funerals often were held in the home. Hair art and other “body” mementos like plaster casts of hands and death masks went well with the Victorian style of decorating. It was very busy in nature with fabric or flocked wall paper, heavy velvet drapery and all manner of items both hung up and arranged on tables and cabinets. Another quality of hair is its resilience. Hair has been found on centuries old Egyptian mummies that still retain its color and texture.
