Unboxing Victorian Mourning: Dress, Human Hair Jewellery & Postmortem Photos

VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM
Step into the fascinating and eerie world of Victorian mourning traditions. In this unboxing video, Curators Ruth and Lydia reveal a real Victorian mourning outfit, intricate jewellery made from human hair, and haunting postmortem photographs once used to memorialise the dead.

Discover how grief, love, and art intertwined during the 19th century — from jet jewellery and veils to specific mourning cards and their meanings. We'll also explore the touching (and sometimes unsettling) practice of Victorian postmortem photography, where families captured their final memories with the departed.

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Dedicated to the memory of Andy Luckett-Duffill (1967 – 2025)