Wreath hairwork owned by H. C. Smith.
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People have long since collected mementoes throughout their lives; to commemorate loved ones that have passed, the major events in their lives, or the people who are closest to them. They also have found creative outlets, especially through fiber arts such as embroidery, sewing, or knitting. The Victorians were no different.
While hairwork has been a creative outlet for centuries, the hairwork we often think about comes from the Victorian Era (mid-late 1800s). While the popularity of hairwork was on the rise, so was Spiritualism, and therefore changing ideas around death. Many of the pieces produced were mourning or memorial pieces, using hair from loved ones that have passed. This includes larger pieces like wreaths, but also smaller less obvious pieces like jewelry that could be worn every day.
However, not all pieces were created for mourning. They were also created to document families, each piece of hair belonging to another family member. They were tokens of affection given by romantic interests and symbols of friendship, a way to keep a piece of that person close to you. Hairwork pieces have also been mentioned in literature, one such example is Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights.
As for our own collection, we have multiple pieces of hair work with several different meanings. One such example is a bracelet made of hair that was given to the owner’s daughter Dorothy Dyde Smith. It has the name “Alicia” engraved on the clasp. However, it is not clear if this piece was used for mourning or as a memento.
We also have multiple hair wreathes or pictures, such as the wreath pictured above. This horseshoe shaped hair wreath was owned by H. C. Smith. It is thought that the center flower would have been made of hair from the person most recently deceased, and after a period of mourning the flower would have been added to the rest of the wreath.
Carpenter family hair picture.
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Another example is on display at the Carpenter House at Centennial Village. This piece in particular is not a mourning wreath, but rather a chronicling of the Daniel Carpenter family. The hair has been shaped into a cross and anchor, a symbol of the family’s Methodist faith. It was created by Mrs. Boggess for the family. Because this practice was so common, visitors to the home would most likely have known immediately what this piece was and what the hair represented.
Written by Annie Talmadge, Assistant Registrar