Yesterday I was writing about family heirlooms. I pointed out that I felt heirlooms were personal in nature and in fact are connections to the past. On April the 25 in 1926 my father received his first haircut. He was 19 months 6 days old. His blonde curly hair was lovingly placed in a small rectangular box by my great grandmother. She included a note explaining what it was. How it survived all these years without being lost or discarded is puzzling to me. Such a tiny insignificant thing. The thing is, I find it creepy ! I do not feel a connection to my father through these pieces of hair, that is a little too much heirloom, pun intended.
I know that the Victorians were into this sort of thing. They would often cut and braid the deceased's hair. They would make watch fobs,necklaces and such from this braided hair. There is even a collectors niche for that sort of thing. Creepy. But that is just me. I do enjoy a good cemetery and some find that creepy. The Victorians also cut their own hair or the hair of family members to use in jewelry. It was quite the flourishing trade. I suppose the hair from the living is not quite as creepy. Nah, I still think that is strange, I mean, would you save fingernail or toenail clippings ? Same thing. They are made of the same material after all.
When great grandmother saved these locks of hair it was 1926, well past the Victorian era. I wonder what inspired her to do so. Saving baby shoes,even having them bronzed was popular at one time. I have a plaster cast of my grandsons hand prints in a round tin. It hangs on my bedroom wall. I took some of my grandson's baby clothing and sewed them into a quilt and gave that to my daughter in law as a gift. I have my father's baby cup as well. That baby cup I cherish and display on a shelf. Nothing creepy about that stuff. I have those locks of hair and can not bring myself to dispose of them. I wonder why that is ? Maybe because great grandmother saved it and after her my father saved it. I don't know. What to do with it ? I'll just leave it as one of those creepy things you inherit someday. Should freak somebody out, unless, of course, that sort of thing comes back into fashion. That hand written note is the provenance antique dealers speak of. Oh, it is bona fide alright ! I can also attest to that because Dad told me so. Didn't creep him out, probably because it was his ! I should put another note in there explaining who put the first note in.
I know that the Victorians were into this sort of thing. They would often cut and braid the deceased's hair. They would make watch fobs,necklaces and such from this braided hair. There is even a collectors niche for that sort of thing. Creepy. But that is just me. I do enjoy a good cemetery and some find that creepy. The Victorians also cut their own hair or the hair of family members to use in jewelry. It was quite the flourishing trade. I suppose the hair from the living is not quite as creepy. Nah, I still think that is strange, I mean, would you save fingernail or toenail clippings ? Same thing. They are made of the same material after all.
When great grandmother saved these locks of hair it was 1926, well past the Victorian era. I wonder what inspired her to do so. Saving baby shoes,even having them bronzed was popular at one time. I have a plaster cast of my grandsons hand prints in a round tin. It hangs on my bedroom wall. I took some of my grandson's baby clothing and sewed them into a quilt and gave that to my daughter in law as a gift. I have my father's baby cup as well. That baby cup I cherish and display on a shelf. Nothing creepy about that stuff. I have those locks of hair and can not bring myself to dispose of them. I wonder why that is ? Maybe because great grandmother saved it and after her my father saved it. I don't know. What to do with it ? I'll just leave it as one of those creepy things you inherit someday. Should freak somebody out, unless, of course, that sort of thing comes back into fashion. That hand written note is the provenance antique dealers speak of. Oh, it is bona fide alright ! I can also attest to that because Dad told me so. Didn't creep him out, probably because it was his ! I should put another note in there explaining who put the first note in.
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| Been in there awhile. |
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