The "Victorian Mourning" exhibit, on display this month at The Hearthside House in Lincoln, Rhode Island, explores the unique traditions surrounding mourning during the Victorian era.
Americans took their cues from Queen Victoria, making mourning one of America's first big businesses. "Mourning clothes for ladies were really the first ready-made, off-the-rack clothes that you could buy,"
The exhibit also examines the significance that flowers and food played in Victorian-era funerals, as well as many of the actions following death that were customary, such as having a small funeral tea or dinner in the home of the family.For more on this event and dates of the exhibit, go to:
http://www.hearthsidehouse.org/news/2012.victorianmourning.html
