Posts tagged
‘Victorian mourning’

Detritus of the Dead Mourners of the past used the detritus of the dead–personal artifacts and mementos–to make mourning wreaths.

A New Year’s Parade of the Damned

Kiss the Corpse and Then You Die The custom of kissing the corpse often led to death from infectious disease.

Transparent Fiction – The Myth of the Victorian Tear Bottle In which textual sources are used to put the stopper in the tear-bottle myth.

The Woman in Black – Victorian Mourning as Criminal Disguise A look at the rogues’ gallery of crimes committed in the United States from about 1860 to 1929 under the cover of crape by The Women in Black.

The Dead Doll A strange tale of a childless couple, their doll child, and the tragedy that befell them.

Fiends for a Funeral: The Amateur Mourners The bizarre, pseudo-sympathetic world of the Edwardian funeral fancier.

Sewing Shrouds: 19th-century Burial Clothing .In search of what the well-dressed corpse is wearing, I ask the question, “Who made dresses for the dead?” and find a series of candid articles about the 19th-century shroud industry.

Mourning becomes elective Some musings on Victorian mourning customs, historic calls for funerary reforms, and a modest proposal for a return to formal mourning.