Consumption and Deathliness

Causes for Deaths in the Victorian Era-

• Infant Mortality and Childbirth
• Fatal Diseases
• Death and the City
• Cholera
• Industrial Deaths

Child birth
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Industrial working 1800's
http://www.regentsprep.org/regents/global/
themes/conflict/social.cfm

Cholera poster 1800's
http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/broughttolife/
themes/publichealth/cholera.aspx

The spread of cholera:
In such conditions disease was inevitable, but Victorian London’s experience of cholera in 1832 would have a huge social impact. Spread via the bacteria-laced diarrhoea of its victims, cholera’s violent and rapid assault on the human body was terrifying. Although it killed fewer than other contemporary diseases - such as influenza or tuberculosis - it was cholera that provided a deadly backdrop to this era of social and economic upheaval. There was no known cure - although plenty were offered by quacks. Commonly known as Asiatic cholera, it seized the public’s imagination with India, supposedly the crown jewel in Britain’s expanding empire, identified as its origin.

The death of little Sarah was but one statistic of the London cholera epidemic of 1849 which killed 14,137 people.
http://partleton.co.uk/sarah1845.htm

These silver snuff boxes were presented to two men for their work during the first and second cholera pandemics. Can you read the inscriptions? One is dedicated “To Robert Fortescue, Surgeon, in testimony of the gratitude and esteem of his fellow townsmen for his humane and unceasing attention to the Poor during the awful visitation of malignant cholera at Plymouth A.D.1832.”
http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/broughttolife/objects/display.aspx?id=5407

Mourning Traditions During the Victorian Era-

Memento Mori:
Memento mori is a Latin phrase meaning ‘remember you must die’. A memento mori is an artwork designed to remind the viewer of their mortality and of the shortness and fragility of human life.

The advent of photography in the Victoria era provided an important new way for the bereaved to remember their dead.In many cases, poverty stood squarely in the way of obtaining expensive painted portraits capturing loved ones in the prime of their lives. Hence cheaper photography sessions began to grow in popularity – especially among bereaved families, whom in many cases, were finally able to obtain the only image they had of the deceased.

Post-mortem photography – also known as memorial portraiture or "memento mori", dovetailed with the era’s high mortality rates. The earliest images of this trend rarely featured coffins and would often see the deceased posed in an everyday position in an attempt to capture their essence during life. Props such as toys for children and flowers would also be included, braces would help to position the body and in some cases the subject’s eyes would be fixed open or later drawn onto the prints. Responding to demand, some photographers would eagerly advertise their post-mortem specialities – which would have to be carried out quickly after death before decomposition began to set in.
The trend for mourning photography began to fall out of fashion in the early stages of the 20th century as snapshots became more affordable and commonplace.

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/01/30/memento-mori--victorian-mourning-photography-immortalising-loved-ones-death_n_2580559.html

Mourning Jewellery:
Walk through an old New England cemetery and you will see that death came early and often in the

Mourning hair locket
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eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Disease, childbirth, and the harsh environment all contributed to the high mortality rate. As a result, the specter of death was a persistent presence that permeated the lives of New Englanders. One way in which they coped with these constant losses was to memorialise their lost loved ones by wearing mourning jewellery.

Mourning rings were the most common form of early mourning jewellery. They were given to family members and close friends and were usually paid for through the estate of the deceased. These rings ranged from plain gold bands to rings set with diamonds, pearls, and miniature portraits on ivory. However, while the elaborateness of mourning rings varied they were all inscribed with the name, date of death, and age of the deceased. Sometimes haunting epitaphs such as “not lost but gone before,” “we must submit,”

Mourning locket with photograph
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and “we’re his last” were included not only to remind the wearer of the departed but of their own mortality as well. 

Styles of mourning jewellery were heavily influenced by the current fashions. Mourning jewellery featured symmetrical, geometric shapes influenced by classical architecture, symbols such as funerary urns and plinths, and weeping women dressed in ancient Roman-style costume. In the first two decades of the nineteenth century rings were still the most common form of mourning jewellery, but brooches and miniatures set in pendant settings gained favour. Often these pieces incorporated the hair of the deceased into their designs. Brooches featured woven plaits or cut curls and feathers of hair set in compartments under glass, while miniaturists would either glue hair onto the surface of the picture or grind it up and mix it with the paint.


http://www.historicnewengland.org/collections-archives-exhibitions/online-exhibitions/JewelryHistory/themes/Mourning.htm



Mourning and the market place:
Mourning Etiquette

• Cover mirrors with black fabric 
• Friends and family might stay with the bereaved overnight since that is the time of day when deep sadness typically sets 
• wrapping door handles black crepe tied with a white ribbon to let people know they shouldn't ring the bell as it could jar the nerves of the mourners
• A person in deep mourning did not attend social events or places of amusement for up to a year.
• It was suggested that calls of condolences be made 10 days following the death or when the person felt well enough to show up for church services. 

https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/423268064948900029/
Victorian Professional Mourners, 1800s. Symbolic protectors of the deceased, the mute would usually stand near the door of the home or church.

Montagne Noire Clothiers presents Deuil Noire (French, "black mourning"), a line of 19th century ladies mourning garments. Our gown series is an interpretation of the four prominent gown silhouettes of the 19th century: Empire, Romantic, Princess and Belle Epoque.
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