When Baby gets that first haircut, Mother saves the hair.
October 22, 2014 5:01 PM Subscribe
"Hair work mourning jewelry served as a sentimental and tangible memorial to the deceased. In the late 1700s, hair work started to become professionalized, but tradesmen were soon deemed untrustworthy. Customers would send the hair of a loved one by mail, expecting it to be returned worked into a piece of jewelry. Instead, some tradesmen returned pre-made pieces containing anonymous hair... Some makers even replaced human hair with sturdier horsehair—leaving the jewelry with none of the sentimental attachment Victorian women coveted."
A few close-up examples of this hair work can be seen in this article about the new show at The Met about 19th and 20th century mourning fashion: Death Becomes Her. More hairwork pieces can be found (1, 2, 3) at The Hairwork Society and a nice gallery is available at Leila's Hair Museum.
A few close-up examples of this hair work can be seen in this article about the new show at The Met about 19th and 20th century mourning fashion: Death Becomes Her. More hairwork pieces can be found (1, 2, 3) at The Hairwork Society and a nice gallery is available at Leila's Hair Museum.
I was just talking about Laura Ingalls Wilder's hair receiver and Anne Frank's combing robe. I guess our culture cares less about the hair of our loved ones.
How sad that these women didn't really get the sentimental value they were looking for from these pieces. (Placebo sentiment, perhaps?)
posted by mynameisluka at 5:42 PM on October 22, 2014
How sad that these women didn't really get the sentimental value they were looking for from these pieces. (Placebo sentiment, perhaps?)
posted by mynameisluka at 5:42 PM on October 22, 2014
The more acceptable modern memorial of a dead one is either the image (1 and 2) or the precious stone for today's sensibility. A broken heart seeks solidity in the ephemeral, all of us, at some point experience this exquisite pain.
posted by jadepearl at 5:54 PM on October 22, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by jadepearl at 5:54 PM on October 22, 2014 [1 favorite]
I actually live just a few blocks from Leila's Hair Museum. According to my aunt and uncle, who went on their last visit, it's quite interesting, but with a hint of whackadoodle.
posted by jferg at 6:10 PM on October 22, 2014
posted by jferg at 6:10 PM on October 22, 2014
"Instead, some tradesmen returned pre-made pieces containing anonymous hair"
I HOPE THESE PEOPLE ARE IN THE DEEPEST CIRCLE OF HELL.
jadepearl: "The more acceptable modern memorial of a dead one is either the image (1 and 2)"
A photographer friend of mine volunteers in the NICU doing pictures of dying preemies. It's hard to even comprehend what a gift she gives those families. (I am trying to make sentences other than "I just can't even" but ... I just can't even. What does one even say?)
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 6:27 PM on October 22, 2014 [5 favorites]
I HOPE THESE PEOPLE ARE IN THE DEEPEST CIRCLE OF HELL.
jadepearl: "The more acceptable modern memorial of a dead one is either the image (1 and 2)"
A photographer friend of mine volunteers in the NICU doing pictures of dying preemies. It's hard to even comprehend what a gift she gives those families. (I am trying to make sentences other than "I just can't even" but ... I just can't even. What does one even say?)
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 6:27 PM on October 22, 2014 [5 favorites]
I have a hair brooch that I never thought much about (my mom often collects oddball pieces of jewelry and thought I might like this) until I saw the photo that went along with this article and thought about the chain of events that must have gone into the thing I have (with a portrait on one side and a woven hair and seed pearls thing on the other end).
posted by jessamyn at 6:41 PM on October 22, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by jessamyn at 6:41 PM on October 22, 2014 [1 favorite]
My mom has my first lock of hair in a baby book.
Also, my navel. No, really.
posted by spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints at 7:01 PM on October 22, 2014
Also, my navel. No, really.
posted by spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints at 7:01 PM on October 22, 2014
Well, a piece of my umbilical cord.
posted by spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints at 7:03 PM on October 22, 2014
posted by spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints at 7:03 PM on October 22, 2014
I was tempted to buy one for my partner the other day but gross
posted by Think_Long at 7:41 PM on October 22, 2014
posted by Think_Long at 7:41 PM on October 22, 2014
There is a jewelry maker in Australia who makes jewelry out of hair, breast milk, and even bits of umbilical cord. Her work is really beautiful. I can't find the link now on my phone, but I'll have to look for it tomorrow.
posted by apricot at 8:12 PM on October 22, 2014
posted by apricot at 8:12 PM on October 22, 2014
My mom was so pissed when the folks who put my grandmother down didn't have that lock of hair they promised. And all I could think was we'll all be dead and it won't matter. But I still felt bad for my mom.
posted by valkane at 8:34 PM on October 22, 2014
posted by valkane at 8:34 PM on October 22, 2014
who put my grandmother down
I hope this means buried. Otherwise, what?
posted by deadwax at 9:44 PM on October 22, 2014 [4 favorites]
I hope this means buried. Otherwise, what?
posted by deadwax at 9:44 PM on October 22, 2014 [4 favorites]
There is apparently a tradition in Chinese culture to make a calligraphy brush out of the hair of the baby's first haircut. There are companies specialising in this nowadays; I got a brochure for such a service from the hospital when my son was born. They will also make seals containing a piece of the dried up umbilical cord (the seal is made out of some kind of acrylic so the cord is visible). Personally I found it all a bit macabre.
You can see some photos of the items in this blog post by some random Singaporean here.
posted by destrius at 11:38 PM on October 22, 2014
You can see some photos of the items in this blog post by some random Singaporean here.
posted by destrius at 11:38 PM on October 22, 2014
My family still has a watch chain my great-great-grandmother made out of her hair for her husband, still attached to the pocketwatch. It wasn't supposed to be a way to remember her after she was dead so much as a romantic gift when he went off to war, though.
posted by kewb at 3:41 AM on October 23, 2014
posted by kewb at 3:41 AM on October 23, 2014
Reminds me of that Freakonomics podcast where they did a sting operation with some pet crematoria. They sent in fake cats filled with hamburger meat, essentially fake boneless cats. They expected to get no ash back because cremated remains are mostly bone. Instead they got back a scoop of ash from random animals or something?
posted by cyberscythe at 6:04 AM on October 23, 2014
posted by cyberscythe at 6:04 AM on October 23, 2014
cyberscythe: "Instead they got back a scoop of ash from random animals or something?"
When my cat died the vet told us there were three options: "Medical waste" where they just get rid of the cat; "Mixed ashes" where you get back ashes from a bunch of pets all cremated together; or "Your pet" where they do your pet separately. It was like $200 for individual cremation and like $30 for "mixed ashes" ... one has to imagine there is cheating going on, since ashes all look alike, and either individual cremation is really expensive or really profitable and either way that's a good incentive to cheat. And one can't imagine that regulators check up on pet cremations all that often. (The vet paid for the medical waste option, so it was free to the owner, since it was just part of their ongoing overhead.)
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 7:00 AM on October 23, 2014
When my cat died the vet told us there were three options: "Medical waste" where they just get rid of the cat; "Mixed ashes" where you get back ashes from a bunch of pets all cremated together; or "Your pet" where they do your pet separately. It was like $200 for individual cremation and like $30 for "mixed ashes" ... one has to imagine there is cheating going on, since ashes all look alike, and either individual cremation is really expensive or really profitable and either way that's a good incentive to cheat. And one can't imagine that regulators check up on pet cremations all that often. (The vet paid for the medical waste option, so it was free to the owner, since it was just part of their ongoing overhead.)
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 7:00 AM on October 23, 2014
This is the jeweler in Australia I mentioned, if anyone is curious. She also does jewelry with ashes. I think it's lovely.
posted by apricot at 1:19 PM on October 23, 2014
posted by apricot at 1:19 PM on October 23, 2014
And all I could think was we'll all be dead and it won't matter. But I still felt bad for my mom.
This seems to be a pretty good personal philosophy.
posted by NoraReed at 5:57 PM on October 23, 2014
This seems to be a pretty good personal philosophy.
posted by NoraReed at 5:57 PM on October 23, 2014
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Victorian hair art has always fascinated me with its morbid sentimentality, artistry, and painful time demands. It's like the ultimate gothy steampunk DIY project.
posted by Diagonalize at 5:35 PM on October 22, 2014 [2 favorites]