Victorian Hairwork, Victorian Hair Art, Victorian Hair Wreath, 19th Century America, 19th Century Domestic Arts, Material Culture, Memory and Mourning Practices, Women’s History, Gender Studies Diane Irby Victorian Hairwork, Victorian Hair Art, Victorian Hair Wreath, 19th Century America, 19th Century Domestic Arts, Material Culture, Memory and Mourning Practices, Women’s History, Gender Studies Diane Irby

Hairwork Flowers and Wreaths, and the Material Culture of Gender Ideology

Discover how Victorian hairwork flowers and wreaths reflect the gender ideals of the 19th century. This post explores how piety, purity, submission, and domesticity shaped women’s lives, and how hairwork materialized these values in the home through acts of sentimental craft.

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Victorian Hairwork, Victorian Hair Art, Victorian Hair Wreath, Hair Flowers, 19th Century America, 19th Century Crafts, 19th Century Domestic Arts, Gender Studies, Material Culture, History, Women’s History Diane Irby Victorian Hairwork, Victorian Hair Art, Victorian Hair Wreath, Hair Flowers, 19th Century America, 19th Century Crafts, 19th Century Domestic Arts, Gender Studies, Material Culture, History, Women’s History Diane Irby

Gender, Class, and the Social Function of Victorian Hairwork Flowers and Wreaths

Victorian hairwork wirework hair flowers and wreaths embodied class, gender, and emotional labor. Learn how their role as handmade domestic art reflected women’s cultural expectations and the performative expression of sentiment in the 19th-century home.

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Victorian Hairwork, Victorian Hair Art, Victorian Hair Wreath, Material Culture, 19th Century Crafts, 19th Century Domestic Arts, Memory and Mourning Practices Diane Irby Victorian Hairwork, Victorian Hair Art, Victorian Hair Wreath, Material Culture, 19th Century Crafts, 19th Century Domestic Arts, Memory and Mourning Practices Diane Irby

Cultural Meaning in Victorian Hairwork Wirework Hair Flowers & Wreaths

Discover the cultural significance of Victorian wirework hair flowers and wreaths - handmade keepsakes crafted from human hair that symbolized memory, affection, and family legacy in 19th-century life.

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Victorian Hairwork, LGBTQ+ History, Pride Month, Women’s History, Material Culture, American Folk Art Diane Irby Victorian Hairwork, LGBTQ+ History, Pride Month, Women’s History, Material Culture, American Folk Art Diane Irby

The Double Silhouette: Celebrating Pride Month through the Victorian Hairwork of Sylvia Drake and Charity Bryant

Explore the story of Sylvia Drake and Charity Bryant, a same-gender couple in early America, through their braided hair silhouette. This Victorian-era artwork honors their 44-year partnership, blending material culture, love, and LGBTQ+ history in a rare and moving work of hairwork art.

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Victorian Hairwork, 19th Century America, Art History, Material Culture Diane Irby Victorian Hairwork, 19th Century America, Art History, Material Culture Diane Irby

Think of a tea set made of a lover’s hair!

At the 1853 New York Crystal Palace Exhibition, Linherr & Co. stunned visitors with delicate hairwork jewelry - including a tea set made from human hair. This innovative display redefined sentimental and mourning art and helped introduce hairwork as a fashionable craft in the U.S.

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Victorian Hairwork, American Folk Art, 19th Century Domestic Arts, Material Culture Diane Irby Victorian Hairwork, American Folk Art, 19th Century Domestic Arts, Material Culture Diane Irby

Victorian Era Women: The DIY OGs

Victorian women embodied the DIY spirit, crafting hairwork jewelry with handmade tools and resourceful skill. This post reflects on an 1877 article from Ladies’ Floral Cabinet, drawing connections between historical and modern creative practices that rely on patience, experimentation, and ingenuity.

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Victorian Hairwork, 19th Century Crafts, American Folk Art, American Cultural Heritage, Art History, Endangered Crafts Diane Irby Victorian Hairwork, 19th Century Crafts, American Folk Art, American Cultural Heritage, Art History, Endangered Crafts Diane Irby

Reviving the Tradition of Hairwork, Preserving Heritage and Artistry

Reviving the nearly forgotten art of hairwork helps preserve American cultural heritage, celebrates feminine creativity, and offers a sustainable, emotionally resonant form of artistic expression rooted in 19th-century traditions.

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American History, 19th Century America, Civil War Studies, Photography and Visual Culture, Memory and Mourning, Material Culture, History of Photography, Early Photography, Battlefield Photography Diane Irby American History, 19th Century America, Civil War Studies, Photography and Visual Culture, Memory and Mourning, Material Culture, History of Photography, Early Photography, Battlefield Photography Diane Irby

Portraits of War: Identity, Intimacy, and Memory in American Civil War Culture

Civil War-era portrait photography shaped identity, intimacy, and mourning for soldiers and families. This in-depth essay by Diane Irby explores the emotional and cultural power of photographs in the face of death, distance, and shifting social norms during the American Civil War.

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