Nov 2012 - Nassau Journals
Nov 2012 - Nassau Journals
Nov 2012 - Nassau Journals
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
18 THE JOURNAL NOVEMBER <strong>2012</strong><br />
“FASHIONABLY LATE—<br />
COSTUMES AND<br />
CUSTOMS OF THE<br />
VICTORIAN MOURNING<br />
PERIOD”<br />
Victorian society was fascinated by<br />
death and spirituality. Elaborate rules<br />
surrounded the etiquette of mourning.<br />
PEERLESS<br />
COLLECTION<br />
INCLUDES<br />
• All 1/2” Glass<br />
• Starphire<br />
Ultra Clear Glass<br />
- No green cast<br />
• Claravista<br />
Ease of cleaning and<br />
corrosion prevention<br />
We utilize<br />
state-of-the-art<br />
fabricating and<br />
tempering equipment<br />
to guarantee you<br />
a perfect fit.<br />
Made in NJ<br />
Your Custom<br />
Frameless<br />
Shower Doors are<br />
manufactured in our<br />
30,000 sq. ft. facility<br />
in Tinton Falls, NJ.<br />
License #<br />
Lic13VH02549000<br />
Hair wreath made<br />
from loved ones’ hair.<br />
In the mid-1800s, the combination of England’s Queen Victo-<br />
Measured, Custom-Manufactured & Installed<br />
In Less Than One Week<br />
At Manufacturer-Direct Pricing<br />
732.389.8175<br />
www.PrecisionShowerDoors.com<br />
Serving all of New Jersey<br />
We Will Never Forget<br />
Berlin work needlepoint used<br />
in memorial motto samplers.<br />
ria’s obsession with the death of her husband,<br />
Prince Albert, and the U.S. Civil<br />
War’s horrendous casualty rate created a<br />
cultural climate in which Americans, particularly<br />
women, embraced many of these<br />
new rules and customs.<br />
In “Fashionably Late—Costumes and<br />
Customs of the Victorian Mourning Period,”<br />
a free exhibit running Sunday after-<br />
noons from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. through <strong>Nov</strong>ember 18, the<br />
Cranbury Historical and Preservation Society has on display dresses,<br />
jewelry, literature, and other historic objects related to Victorian<br />
mourning.<br />
These range from elaborate lace-and-beaded black<br />
gowns, to engraved memorial cards, to a tiny pair of<br />
child’s black kid-leather mourning shoes.<br />
On <strong>Nov</strong>ember 4 at 2:00 p.m., there will be a related<br />
special event co-sponsored by the Cranbury Public Library.<br />
Professional history re-enactor Jane Peters Estes<br />
will present “Grave Matters,” a program offering a<br />
tongue-in-cheek look at customs surrounding death<br />
and dying. Appearing in Victorian costume, Ms. Estes<br />
will talk about mourning customs during the Civil War,<br />
the dying words of famous individuals, and headstone<br />
epitaphs.<br />
For the ongoing museum exhibit, curator Lisa<br />
Beach has pulled items from the museum’s extensive<br />
textile collection, and several local families have made<br />
special loans of some of their own heirlooms. Here are<br />
a few of the unusual mourning customs she discovered<br />
in her research:<br />
For a woman, mourning lasted two years. During<br />
the second year of “half mourning,” it was permissible<br />
to wear gray or purple. Only black was allowed in the<br />
first year.<br />
Etiquette experts were divided on whether it was<br />
necessary for a child to dress in mourning wear, but<br />
capes, bonnets, and shoes that have been passed on<br />
show that some children did so.<br />
Mirrors in households were draped, so the deceased<br />
person’s spirit would not get trapped in the glass.<br />
When mourning<br />
ended, it was considered<br />
bad luck to keep<br />
the clothing, so owners<br />
discarded it or<br />
passed it on.<br />
By the World War I<br />
era the customs had<br />
faded, likely because<br />
there was so much<br />
Mourning gown, bonnet, jewelry,<br />
and wreath<br />
death that mourners chose to move on with their lives<br />
more quickly.<br />
But many of these exquisitely made Victorian objects<br />
have survived.<br />
“For the Victorians, mourning was a time of great<br />
sadness but much beauty as well,” Ms. Beach said.<br />
Visitors may also tour the museum’s other permanent<br />
exhibits, which include five rooms of household<br />
and decorative items and furniture that help depict life<br />
in Cranbury through the ages.<br />
The Cranbury Museum is located at 4 Park Place<br />
East, Cranbury, NJ. Visit www.cranburyhistory.org for<br />
more details.