Hair jewelry designs from 1864 catalog

Hairwork, creating jewelry, wreaths, pictures, or other decorative objects, was popular throughout the nineteenth century. These items were fashioned from the hair of loved ones, living or deceased. Popular magazines include patterns for items to make at home and professional hairworkers created items with hair provided by the customer.
From The Jewellers’ Book of Patterns in Hair Work, 1864. Courtesy of Archive.org

Image featured in Discovering Quacks, Utopias, and Cemeteries: Modern Lessons from Historical Themes by Cynthia Resor

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.