Over 200 pieces of 19th century Victorian Mourning Art mounted on display. Full color catalog also available. Call now for appointment for viewing (585) 589-9013.

“Absent, But Not Forgotten”
Introduction
By C. W. (Bill) Lattin
June 2022

“And Sundries,” as part of our exhibit title suggest there is more to Victorian Mourning Art than just individually created memorials. Indeed, this exhibit shows one-of-a-kind creations, especially through the numerous shadowboxes. However, the Victorians mass produced mourning prints in various forms and innumerable manufactured knick-knacks. Not to mention postmortem photos and hair from the deceased preserved as loving keepsakes.
I first took an interst in this subject as a freshman in college when my photography professor, Charles Swedlund , showed students antique postmortem photos he had collected. That was in 1963 which was when I too started collecting, soon realizing that there were many other facets to this subject.
Surely the Victorians tried to make death a beautiful thing, as many of these artifacts portray. They tell us a lot about the cultural climate of a bygone era. A quote from one of my prints states, “The Day of Death is better than the day of birth.” Indeed some of the memorials in this exhibit are intense. We well know the dead cannot verbally speak for themselves. Yet, through these remaining Victorian art forms, there is still a visual presence of them.
I hope you will see these objects somewhat as the survivors did, who revered them with a sense of reverence. Their sorrow, grief, anguish and mourning are represented through these many artifacts, giving testimony about the absence of loved ones.