Yesterday, my boyfriend and I went to the Johnstown Flood Memorial Park, which is about an hour from me. They had a big display on Victorian mourning rituals, which is a close second to my interest in women in Civil War arsenals. So I happily geeked out. Of course, many people lost their personal effects in the flood, as did businesses. So those with means to do so wore public mourning for loved ones. My guess is that mourning items were sent for from out of town.
From top to bottom: a hairwork pendant with locks of hair supposedly from Flood victims.
A mourning fan.
1880's mourning dress. Note the black velvet collar and cuffs.
Many households draped everything in crepe. It was believed that if one caught their reflection in a mirror while in mourning, they would be the next to die.
I freaking adore this picture of a widow. From roughly the 1860s. Relatively few widows were photographed in mourning, let alone with a veil over their faces.
Another nice mourning photo, probably late 1860's.
How neat!! And I thought you'd find this neat, as well. Even though you already know all of this...the video is at least a resource for me:http://www.travelchannel.com/video/allegheny-arsenal-explosion
ReplyDeleteYeah, that's pretty a good video. I was so excited to see it on at like 1 AM not long ago.
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