I'm back after a bit of a hiatus. I'm still collecting vintage and antique items. I have so many stories I want to share about some of the objects I've collected. Today is an antique mourning brooch.

I've wanted to own a piece of Victorian mourning jewelry ever since I discovered they existed. I used to check out the 'Art of Mourning' website, admiring the jewelry and the stories behind them. Mourning and hairwork jewelry goes back to middle ages, though during the 19th century it seemed to flourish. (source) Most mourning pieces use a lock of the deceased's hair in the jewelry. Some pieces are very elaborate while others are more simple, using a braided lock of hair. 

When I saw this mourning brooch, I didn't want to pass it up once I saw the back was engraved with initials and a date of death! I did a little digging on Ancestry and Google and came up with quite a bit of information. The backstory to this mourning brooch is absolutely fascinating, yet tragic. 

Samuel Cutler (79) and his wife Lydia (63) were on board the 'Rob Roy' schooner, June 28th of 1832 (source). They were headed to Portland Maine from Newburyport in Massachusetts where they lived. A storm squall came up, capsizing the ship. (source) Five passengers were trapped in the cabin and drowned. Samuel & his wife Lydia were among the victims, the bodies were recovered and laid to rest. I imagine one of their family members had this mourning brooch made after theirs deaths to remember them by. (Some documents on Ancestry mention they had 7 children. Lydia was Samuels 2nd wife). 

It appears there's two different colors of hair braided in the middle of the brooch, so I'm assuming it is from locks of both Samuel and Lydia's hair. The brooch is incredibly tiny, it was probably worn at the throat pinned to a dress. There are jet beads, though one is missing and a few have cracks, and tiny seed pearls, though some are discolored with age.


Samuel Cutler was a clerk and merchant during his life. There is a book that comes up on Google with a journal he kept on board a prison ship. (source)

Her dress is from the late 1850's. This silk and satin dress is a very good example of an 1858 dress. The wide flowing sleeves, (almost medieval looking), and the very full skirt with hoops. Our lady appears to be around 40-50 years old. She's holding a book. Did she like to read? Was she scholarly? A teacher? It could also be a prayer book. I've decided to call her Jane. After Jane Eyre, one of my favorite classics.

Ambrotypes were often hand tinted. You can see our lady had her cheeks tinted. They were also sometimes gilded for embellishment. It's faded, but her brooch, the front of her dress, and cuff show remnants of shiny gold gild.

The case is wood with leather embossing. Inside is embossed red velvet, and a fancy frame. There is also faded gold paint, which made a pretty vine design around the inside of the case.

The metal latch is intact, and there's spiral, sort of sun burst design engraved on the metal.

While the daguerreotype image was produced on a shiny silver plate, the ambrotype was exposed onto a small piece of glass. Ambrotypes were produced between 1850 into the late 1860's, until the tintype replaced it.

If you remove an ambrotype from its case and hold it up to a light background you can see how the image appears as a negative. Earlier ambrotypes were produced with two panes of glass, the image sandwiched. Later ones like mine were made on a single sheet of glass. The single sheets are more delicate, because the image is directly exposed on the back of the glass; making it impossible to clean without damaging the photograph irreparably.

Collection complete! The daguerreotype, ambrotype, and tintype were the earliest forms of successful photography.

Daguerreotypes are highly reflective, they have a mirror like quality. You can usually only view the photograph from an angle. Below you can see the reflection of the antique key I was holding. Notice how her image appears as a ghostly negative.