Human Hair Brooch
Not a hair out of place on this Tiny Tuesday
Recently at the FRHS, several mementos of human hair have been discovered tucked here and there. Just last week, for example, a lock of hair tied with a ribbon was found in a diary, likely that of the woman who recorded her thoughts long before. Another lock of hair was found folded within a personal, chatty letter; it had been there since the 1890s. Keeping in spirit, it only seemed appropriate to highlight more human hair in our collection!
Encased in this large oval brooch are blonde and brunette braids, meticulously plaited, and arranged under a thick beveled crystal cover that is secured within a brass finding with crimped edges. The piece dates to the mid-19th century, when large memorial brooches were a popular bauble to wear, when in mourning or not. We do not know who the hair originally belonged to, nor do we know who owned this spine-tingling brooch. It descended in a branch of the Hathaway family in Fall River and has been in the collection since 1956.
As was discussed in previous posts, Victorians had a sentimental attachment to human hair, particularly that of close friends and loved ones who had passed. Keeping a lock of hair from someone dearly departed – and fashioning it into jewelry – kept the memory of the person close. It may seem a tad disturbing today, but the phenomena continue, and we have our own strange attachments to the sentimentality of hair.
How many of us have a lock of baby hair from our first haircut, lovingly tucked away into a baby book?
Perhaps that book will one day make its way to a museum, and inside, an unsuspecting curator or cataloger will be surprised to find a little sentimental reminder of one long dead.
Sentiment to one may be macabre to another!