Mourning Maine’s Dead : Victorian Hair Jewelry and Crafts

In 19th-century Maine, death was ever present. To grapple with loss, Victorian Mainers could turn to art and craft to mourn and remember their loved ones. Their material of choice was human hair. Mary Baker made a good living crafting flowers, wreaths, and jewelry from human hair. Her Portland home-based business tapped into a national craze for Victorian hair jewelry which not only memorialized the dead, but also connected the living. From snips of a loved one’s hair in a locket, to braided hair friendship rings exchanged between schoolgirls, to a large-scale wreath of flowers containing the hair of an entire family, Mainers embraced hair art as a symbol of mourning the dead and celebrating the living. The program starts in the PHC Museum and is followed by an optional short tour into the Skolfield-Whittier House. Presenter: Elizabeth DeWolfe is Professor of History at the University of New England where she teaches courses in women’s history, archival research, and American culture. Dr. DeWolfe is a historical detective: she hunts archives for the traces of ordinary women, piecing together their all-but-forgotten lives from faint clues. Dr. DeWolfe’s latest work, Alias Agnes: The Notorious Tale of a Gilded Age Spy, reveals the tale of a Maine stenographer turned undercover detective. Her previous work includes the award-winning book The Murder of Mary Bean which illustrates the great opportunities as well as the dangers for young women working in the textile mills of the 1830s and 1804s. DeWolfe has also written about the Shakers, Victorian hair jewelry makers, and a Maine woman’s battle with bullfrogs in the Great Depression. We’re excited to be selected by Maine Humanities Council to host this Maine Speaks Program! FREE TO ATTEND, REGISTRATION REQUIRED