2011.0043.001 Mourning brooch, 2011.0043.002 Brooch
  • 2011.0043.001 Mourning brooch, 2011.0043.002 Brooch
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Brooch (Pin)

  • Category:

    Jewelry

  • Creator (Role):

    Mark Campbell (Manufacturer and seller)

  • Place of Origin:

    Chicago, Illinois, United States, North America

  • Date:

    1867-1879

  • Materials:

    Hair (human); Gold; Steel; Wax; Shellac

  • Techniques:

    Hair work (table work)

  • Museum Object Number:

    2011.0043.002


  • Complete Details



Object Number

2011.0043.002

Object Name

Brooch (Pin)

Category

Jewelry

Credit Line/Donor

Gift of Sarah Gest Bauer in memory of her parents Donald A. Gest and Nancy Johnson Gest

Creator (Role)

Mark Campbell (Manufacturer and seller)

Place of Origin

Chicago, Illinois, United States, North America

Date

1867-1879

Materials

Hair (human); Gold; Steel; Wax; Shellac

Techniques

Hair work (table work)

Dimensions (inches)

1.6 (L) , 1 (W) , 0.3 (D)

Dimensions (centimeters)

4 (L) , 2.5 (W) , 0.7 (D)

Object Description

Web - 12/16/2021

Dark brown, open weave "elastic" hairwork segments are clasped in rose-gold mounts to make this grape leaf brooch that also converts to a pendant. Such hairwork was popular in Victorian England and gained fashion traction in America following the Civil War. It was promoted by jewelry manufacturers who answered market demand by producing completed designs and selling components to be assembled as a sentimental home-craft by ladies with leisure time. Mark Campbell's firm in Chicago offered this particular brooch design in their 1867 instruction manual, "The Art of Hairwork."

Bibliography and Bibliographic Notes

[Book] Fales, Martha Gandy. 1995 Jewelry in America, 1600-1800.
Similar objects; p.101 and p. 104
[Catalogue] Campbell, Mark. 1867 The Art of Hairwork.
(Pictured in 1867 and 1875 editions), p. 153
[Book] Sheumaker, Helen. 2007 Love Entwined: The Curious History of Hairwork in America.
Industrial research