ABSTRACT
The rituals of mourning were an important part of nineteenth-century life, which for those who could afford it, was often accompanied by wearing particular clothes, veiling the face for women, and carrying a mark of remembrance of the deceased. Jewellery was an effective way to do this, and items often contained hair that had been taken from a deceased beloved. The brooches all contain hair, set into varying degrees of elaborate stone and metal work. Sometimes these items also contain clues to the owner or the deceased in the form of an engraving. This chapter provides some examples that are all from the US, but can be found in a range of European countries, highlighting the popularity of this practice. As sources for the history of emotions, they provide insight into the grieving rituals of a broad middle class and the way that a token of the body – hair – came to embody and represent an absent loved one.
