Accessories

During the Victorian era, mourning attire extended to jewelry and other accessories. Most mourning jewelry was made from the black gemstone jet, but another popular variety was hair jewelry. 

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Brooch containing braided hair, 1880-1900.

Hair Jewelry

Elaborately woven bracelets, brooches, necklaces, and earrings were woven from the human hair of the deceased. Hair was a popular material because it was considered “decay resistant” and allowed people to preserve and keep close a piece of their loved one.

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Brooch and earring set made from the hair of Josephine A. Toadvine Rider, 1883.

The brooch and earrings set contain the hair of Josephine A. Toadvine Rider. Josephine was born in Salisbury, Maryland, in 1841. She was the daughter of Purnell Toadvine and Amanda Parsons, and wife of Thomas F. J. Rider, an attorney-at-law. They had one daughter, Mary R. Rider.

Josephine died on January 14, 1883, of “consumption” (tuberculosis). Her daughter, Mary, being only nine years old at the time, likely received the jewelry to remember and honor her late mother.