Found on Pinterest.........................

A large collection of mourning photo pins.

                                                                                        

A Modern Version of Mourning Hair Art

Inspired by a Victorian memory (mourning?) flower she had as a child,

Hair designer Hrafnhildun Arnardottin

created this stunning hairdo.

I have seen individual hair "flowers" 

on Ebay before, somehow I think I will look

at them differently now.

What do you think?

                                                                            

Mourning Hair Wreath

This Victorian Mourning hair wreath might

be one of the prettiest ones I have seen.

I love that it is so light and delicate looking.

Dating to somewhere in the 1870's this wreath

would have originally had a large and probably ornate

shadowbox frame around it.

But I think I prefer it in it's much more simple state

of just the "box" part.

  

This "tree of life" memorial piece includes hair from

several family members and came from

a very old Illinois estate.

At 18'high x 22' wide,

this piece includes white seed beads, black bugle type beads,

and glass pearl type beads as well as the hair.

(currently available on Ebay)

(happy bidding!)

                                                                              

Victorian Mourning Hair Jewelry

In Memory Of.....................................
                                                                          
                A few mourning pieces I have found lately:

I particularly like this pin, I think because it is

a rectangle . Most of the ones I find seem to be ovals.

This pin has a black enamel front, and 

what looks to be sterling back, although it isn't marked.

The hair is a brown color and is

arranged in a loosely woven knot.

It is monogramed on the back with the name

A.R. Moore.

This second pin is about 1 inch wide,

9k gold,  with a little beveled glass top.

The hair is brown with maybe a couple of blonde hairs (?) 

It is laid inside in casual loops.

It's a bit hard to read, but my best guess is .......

Marg Sarah

Lady Morris

obt 17, Jan 1842.

(There is a mark of some kind after Marg, 

I wonder if that is short for Margaret?)

I am not sure what metal this third pin is made of. It measures

about 5/8 by 7/8 inches.

I think it was a pin at one time and was converted

to a watch fob piece or a pendant.

The hair is blonde and is laid out in

a nice braid similar to the first pin.

No name on the back.

These are all examples of

Victorian hair jewelry.

Are they all mourning pieces?

Again hard to say, but I think it's a safe bet that the second

pin is for sure.

This last piece I found is a button.....................

it measures about 3/4 inch in diameter.

The young mans face feels like a photo that was

carefully molded around a button form.

The back is cloth and has a loop

for sewing it to a piece of clothing.

There is no way to know if this is a mourning piece

or if "he" was going to be separated for a while

from someone that loved him and

wanted a love token or a memento.

Hair jewelry and hair art was very popular in

The Victorian Era.

Queen Victoria wore several rings which were made from the

hair of her husband the deceased Prince Albert.

For the Victorians death was a common and accepted part of

their everyday life.

Not only was the infant mortality rate higher,

adults died at earlier ages of ailments that are more easily cured these days.

Then of course for Americans the Civil War

took its toll as well.

Some pieces were done as " momento mori"

("remember you must die")

and some were made as love tokens

between sweethearts and also between family members or best friends.

Although some were made by professional jewelers ,

there were kits available for people that wanted

to try their hand at making their own.

While I am sure there are some that would find these

  hair pieces morbid,

I think they are fascinating pieces of history,

little reminders that give clues to life as it was before the

turn of the century.

A couple of interesting "hair facts":

*The most expensive celebrity hair ever sold was that

of Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara,

which was taken from him by a CIA operative.

It sold in 2007 for $119,000.

*Hair from Elvis was sold by his personal barber for

$115.120. It went to an anonymous buyer during an

online auction Nov.15,2002.

*Hair from John lennon sold for $48,000.

(wikipedia)

                                                                                         

RUCKERS TOMB

Evergreen Cemetery.......

While driving by Evergreen Cemetery a few days ago, I caught a glimpse

through the trees of the massive Ruckers Tomb.

I hadn't seen the tomb in years* so I decided to take the time to visit.

Built in 1907 by the Rucker Brothers to honor their mother, Jane,

the tomb stands about 50 feet tall.

The granite tomb houses the remains of several of the Rucker family members.

There are twentytwo crypts in the tomb, about half of which are occupied.

At the time the tomb was built the cost was $30,000,

a fortune at that time.

The Rucker family is one of the prominent pioneer families of Everett, Wa.

and there are members of the family still living in Everett today.

Evergreen Cemetary has four governors buried there , as well as

Sen. Henry M. "Scoop" Jackson.

*Years ago I MIGHT have climbed this tomb

with friends......at night.....in the dark......

On second thought, I am taking the fifth.

                                                              

Victorian Mourning Hair Art

Victorian "Family Tree" Hair Art Book..........................

There are nine pages in this amazing  book.

These pages were at one time tied together,

but the "ties" or ribbons are gone.

The family represented in these pages was from the Nora Springs,

Iowa area, and the dates are from 1887-1897.

Lillian M. Seaman......18yrs.

Benjamin Seaman...born August 6,1823

Binnie F. Seaman....born Oct. 30,1843........54years old

Alma......19 years old. Born 29,1867....died Sept. 26,1887.

This also has her hair from when she was two years old.

Josie, 17 years old, born August 31,1870...died Sept. 26, 1887

(Josie died the same day that Alma did. Interesting.)

Callie, 25 years old...born May 3, 1872.

This also has Callies baby hair.

Great Grandma Williams....83 years old.

Grandma Williams.....53 years old

Grandpa Williams.....80 years old.

Benji F. .....18years old....born Sept.4,1878

Everett F., born Sept 3, 1877......died Oct10,1894

Age 18.

( at one time a curl of baby hair was on this page)

The cover of this album.

I thought this was a real interesting example of

mourning hair art....as well as an interesting way to record a family tree.

Some in this family died at an early age and some lived to what was quite an old age for this time.

I am intrigued by the fact that two of the girls seemed to have died on the same day,

(Josie and Alma)

I wonder what the circumstances were?

Also the fact that some of the family have hair from when they were

babies as well as when they were older is interesting to me.

Was this because it was customary to collect "first curls"?

And was the fact that so many children died in early childhood the reason that

this was customary?

I think this is a lovely way to  mourn, remember,

and celebrate family members.

I do however find it sad that this is no longer in the possession

of the family that took the time to make this

tribute.

(This was offered in an online auction, I contacted the owner and 

she gave her permission to share it with you. )

Mary Mourning Jesus

THE PIETA

Pieta

William-Adalphe Bouguereau

1876 

anonymous, circa 1500 (?)

Michelangelo

The Pieta is a subject in Christian art depicting

The Virgin Mary cradling the dead body of Jesus,

most often found in sculpture.

(Wikipedia)