Mourning Memorabilia: A unique trend in the antique collecting industry

Death and dying always been a taboo subject in our society.  The truth is, no one really know what happens to us when we die, so our own mortality is not something we tend to remind ourselves about on a daily basis.  But for some, death is simply an inevitability we all face and shouldn’t be a subject to ignore. Traditions surrounding death and mourning can be a mysterious and fun thing to explore. In fact, collecting mourning memorabilia is a unique trend that seems to be emerging in the collecting industry!

In Europe, the formal tradition of mourning a loved one that has passed began in the 1800’s under the reign of Queen Victoria.  Her beloved husband Albert died in 1861, leaving her grief-stricken.  Out of her tragedy, the Queen created a new level of formal morning that included rituals with strict rules, such as standards for attire dictating that women wear black crepe clothing (widow's weeds) and “jet” jewelry. In the Victorian period, social mourning rules extended to hair accessories, jewelry, umbrellas, fans, socialization, and behavior.

Mourning antiques include pieces such as locks of hair from the deceased woven into art and sentimental jewelry, including bracelets, brooches, necklaces and earrings.  Plaited hair was often mounted onto gold and black enamel rings, as well.  

The strange tradition of weaving human hair of the deceased into items doesn’t stop with just jewelry! Other items unrelated to jewelry include coffin plates and mourning clothing.  Floral wreaths of every shape and size were fashioned using human hair, also!  Locks of hair of the deceased were also woven together in these wreaths using hair from all family members.

Although there is no central club or organization for collecting mourning items just yet, collectors predict that mourning memorabilia will be a growing category in the world of antiques.  

The value of these mourning items depend on three main factors:  condition, rarity, and aesthetics. For the coffin plates, hinges are valued on condition, aesthetics, the type of metal used and the quality of engraving. In plates, less common inscriptions are considered more valuable.

One thing is for sure: mourning items are an extremely specialized area of collecting.  Buyers of this type of memorabilia are extremely knowledgeable and very picky. And those who do collect mourning memorabilia compete for the best items!

Collectors beware and collect if you DARE!