A. Bernhard & Co. Catalogue, 1870
Manufacturers of
Diamond Work & Ornamental Hair Jewelry
importers of German Jewelry, Watches, Diamonds, etc.
169 Broadway, Gilsey Building, Rm. 3
New York

   Whether fashioned by a home crafter professionally by a hair weaver or a jewelry maker, hair jewelry was the height of the romanticism and sentiment that characterized the Victorian era. Some pieces were done as mourning pieces or "momento mori" ("remember you must die"). 

   While some may find this morbid, for the Victorians death was a common and accepted part of everyday life especially due to the higher infant mortality rate of the time and the devastation of the Civil War.

   Hair jewelry was not always mourning jewelry, however, as it was also crafted as love tokens from sweethearts, family members and cherished friends.  Rings might be engraved with loving messages and memorials either on the face or inside the band, and might also have hidden compartments for the hair.

   Brooches came in all sizes from the daintiest lace pin to a larger 3" oval meant to be worn at the neck. Watch chains and bracelets often show the most ingenious hair weaving techniques with more than one color of hair often used, as perhaps a chain given by three daughters to their father.

PAGE 2 of Victorian hair jewelry: bracelets, brooches and earrings.
A. Bernhard & Co. Catalogue, 1870

PAGE 3 of Victorian hair jewelry: brooches and earrings.

PAGE 42 of Victorian hair bracelets, brooches and earrings.

  VICTORIAN palette work hair flower bouquet in gold with black enameling lover's knot brooch, 2".   View   View   View   #V29441

PAGE 48 of Victorian hair bracelets, brooches, stickpins and earrings.

 VICTORIAN hair woven on gold cross pendant, 1-1/4" cross on 1/3" loop. See Bell's "Collector's Encyclopedia of Hairwork Jewelry" page 124.   View   View   #V31361

PAGE 21 of Victorian hair jewelry: bracelets of intricate design.

VICTORIAN gold and black enamel palette worked hair plumes, seed pearls and golden wire memorial brooch with engraving on back, "Alex McDonald, obt. 23rd Dec, 1850, Agnes Sanderson, 14th Nov. 1871. Note that each side of the curled hair is a different color, one for each of the people memorialized in the engraving on the back.   View   View   View   #V31130

PAGE 49 of Victorian hair bracelets, brooches, stickpins and earrings.

VICTORIAN hair pin with orange cabochons center stone, hair frame set in gold, monogrammed "MBF", 1".   View   View   #V31356

PAGE 7 of Victorian hair jewelry: stickpins, brooches, earrings and pendants.

PAGE 46 of Victorian hair bracelets, brooches and earrings.

PAGE 61 of Victorian hair rings.
A. Bernhard & Co. Catalogue, 1870

VICTORIAN puffy heart padlock charm with hair enclosure, 1". A similar piece can be seen on page 36 of Bell's "Collecting Victorian Jewelry".    View   #V31587

PAGE 30 of Victorian hair jewelry: necklaces and bracelets.

 VICTORIAN hair bracelet with gold stations and clasp, two broken portions on back, 7-1/4" by 3/4". This bracelet can be seen on page 28 of the A. Bernhard & Co 1870 catalogue of hair jewelry.   View   View   View   #V31353

  PAGE 23 of Victorian hair jewelry: brooches, bracelets and earrings.

VICTORIAN hair bracelet, engraved inside "CLVR", 6" by 1/2", hair as is and delicate in one place where it joins the clasp. View #V25845

   LADY wearing gold earrings and a woven hair necklace with a photograph pendant. Carte de viste marked "Robertson & Brooks, Franklin, KY."

 VICTORIAN sentimental woven hair watch chain, 14".   View   #V16355   

PAGE of Victorian hair jewelry: necklaces and bracelets.

 VICTORIAN hair bracelet with etched design locket front, 6-5/8" by 7/8".   View   View   View   #V31408

PAGE 22 of Victorian hair jewelry: brooches and bracelets.

VICTORIAN hair bow bracelet with engraved initials "AVP" on center.   View   View   View   #V31357

PAGE 6 of Victorian hair jewelry: bracelets, brooches, earrings and pendants.

VICTORIAN table worked hair set in etched and enameled gold pierced earrings with three pendants, 1-3/4" top to bottom. Earrings like these, circa 1870, can be seen on page 45 of Romero's Warman's Jewelry, Ed. 3. Similar earrings are on page 143 of Davidov & Dawes "Victorian Jewelry".   View   #V27335

PAGE 9 of Victorian hair jewelry: brooches in fancy designs, including florals and initials.

VICTORIAN blond hair bow brooch of open table work with drops, 2" by 1-3/4". This brooch, sadly, has major damage, but I am sure it was treasured and worn by someone many years ago.  View   View   View   #V31395

VICTORIAN brown hollow table worked woven hair acorn earrings, 1-1/8". Earrings like these, circa 1870, can be seen on page 45 of Romero's Warman's Jewelry, Ed. 3.   View   #V27607

PAGE 40 of Victorian hair jewelry: clasps and bracelets.

View Victorian hair ring as shown at right #V15258, and on page 13 of the catalogue. #V15458.

  VICTORIAN  hair ring with shield front, size 9-1/4.   #V21550

VICTORIAN hair purse pocketbook charm, , 7/8". Bell's "Collector's Encyclopedia of Hairwork Jewelry" page 197.   View   #V31399

PAGE 41 of Victorian hair jewelry: clasps and bracelets. 

PAGE 19 of Victorian hair jewelry: bracelets, brooches, watch chains, earrings and pendants

   VICTORIAN table work hair caged bead brooch, 1-1/2".   View   #V5459

  PAGE 32 of Victorian hair jewelry: watch chains.

PAGE 33 of Victorian hair jewelry: watch chains.

PAGE 34 of Victorian hair jewelry: watch chains.

   VICTORIAN 375 (9 ct) table worked hair 14" watch chain with fob engraved with initials and marked "WA .375".  View   #V21554

PAGE 26 of Victorian hair jewelry: brooches, bracelets watch chains and earrings.

VICTORIAN hair brooch with table worked open frame and palette worked woven hair center set in yellow gold filled, 1-1/8".   View   #V31468

PAGE 55 of Victorian hair earrings.

VICTORIAN hair earrings with open weave table work and gold fittings.

PAGE 14 of Victorian hair jewelry: charms, initials and pendants.

PAGE 39 of Victorian hair jewelry: watch chains.

Not everyone would have used a palette or table work to create jewelry from a loved one's hair. This locket appears to be hand lettered inside, with crimped and hand-sewn hair work curls and hand written paper inset, both probably done by an amateur.

This looks like a hand made amateur setting, although one with great charm, and it is probably a one-of-a-kind piece. The child's photo on the front is combined with the lock of hair and tiny baby ring on the back.

VICTORIAN gold hair locket with black enameled "IMO' on front, "Hannah Taylor, born June 23, 1872 died July 30, 1876, Rest in Jesus" and hair curls inside, 1-5/8" by 1-1/4".   View   View   View   #V29823 

VICTORIAN hair brooch with brown, blonde and red hair, brooch frame has lovely branches, leaves and tendrils, 2" by 2-1/4".   View   View   View   #V32449

VICTORIAN lady wearing a lovely hair brooch with woven and braided hair.   #Vpho1

VICTORIAN sentimental triple knot hair brooch in yellow gold settinng, circa 1880, 1-5/8". Hair jewelry was a popular sentimental item throughout the 1800s. This is an unusual design, and may have been done by siblings in a family. A very similar brooch can be seen in this Victorian-era photograph View.   View   #V28119 

REFERENCES:
A. Bernhard & Co. Catalogue, 1870
Art of Mourning
Morbid Outlook: Fashion History
Collectors Encyclopedia of Hairwork Jewelry by Jeanenne Bell