receiver
Province of New Brunswick, Heritage Branch
Tous droits réservés.
| Nom de l'objet : | receiver |
| Type de l'objet : | hair |
| Catégorie de l'objet : | personal artifacts |
| Sous-catégorie de l'objet : | toilet article |
| Matériaux : | ceramic |
| Technique de fabrication : | painted, hand |
| Numéro d'accession : | NB 982.7.802 B |
| Nom de la collection : | Doak Collection |
| Province d'utilisation : | New Brunswick |
| Pays d'utilisation : | Canada |
| Culture : | British ? English Canadian |
| Date de début de production : | 1830 circa |
| Date de fin de production : | 1900 circa |
| Description : | White hair receiver. Three footed. Exterior decorated with hand painting. Green band with gold scrolls and leaves below. Purple flowers, green leaves. The feet are painted gold. Covered decorated quite similar. Hole in the cover is rimmed in gold. Gold has raised dots and scrolls on it. |
| Commentaires : | This piece is original to the Doak Historic Site. Hair was important to Victorians, especially for females, who never cut their hair except in cases of serious illness. A hundred years ago, boys and girls were dressed similarly and wore their hair in long curls. The first haircut for a boy was seen as the first step toward boyhood. Hair treatment was also a rite of passage for girls but, unlike boys, occurred in a series of interim stages. By the time a girl reached adolescence, her hair would be done up in a plait and tied up loosely with a ribbon, and an indication that coming of age was near. The transition to young adulthood was considered complete when a young lady began to "put up" her hair. Victorian Americans were acutely aware of the power of first impressions. They knew what people saw first had a disproportionate impact on the formation of opinions and judgments. It was because they understood so well the importance of first impressions that the Victorians placed much emphasis on physical appearance and personal attributes. Women wore very little make-up - anything more than a little face powder was risking the label of "painted lady." Alternatively, much effort was spent on hairstyles and clothing to maximize beauty. Hair that was not fixed in a becoming way was almost a disfigurement of any woman, while a less than beautiful girl could improve herself with careful dressing of the hair. Hair receivers were made of a variety of materials including glass, bronze, celluloid, porcelain, and crystal. They came were round or square shapes and some, such as one of the examples here, were footed and hand-painted. These two hair receivers are described as "Nippon." This is a collective term, not used to describe a specific type of product, but rather identifies the country of origin and the time frame in which it was produced. Japanese wares made during the period 1891 to 1921 were stamped "Nippon," which means "Japan," in order to comply with American importation restrictions. After 1921, the name of "Japan" was used. Although the popularity of "big hair," as can be seen in photographs of the era, has long since passed, Victorian sentiments about hair still linger: "a woman's crowning glory" is an expression whose origin can be traced to the Victorian period. |
| Fonctions : | The hair receiver, usually identified by the finger-wide hole in the lid for inserting hair, is a toilet article commonly found on a woman's dressing table in the mid-1800s to the early to mid-decades of twentieth century. Its purpose was to save hair culled from the hairbrush and comb, which were used vigorously on a daily basis. Hair was not washed on a daily basis. Instead, the hair was brushed and combed vigorously up to several times a day, and oils were often used to add shine and scent to hair. Hair culled from combs and brushes was saved in the hair receiver, and then used to stuff pincushions. The oil in the hair lubricated the pins, and made it easier to pierce material. Another use for the hair was to stuff small pillows - it was much softer than prickly pinfeathers! The hair saved in hair receivers was also used to make "ratts," a secret beauty aid that added volume and fullness to the hair. Ratts were made by stuffing a small ball of hair into a sheer hair net until it was about the size of a potato, sewing it shut and inserting it into a hairstyle. Hair was often twisted and arranged to create the appearance of height and the look of an oval or round shape to the face - Victorians believed a wide and high forehead was a sign of virtue. A woman could then truthfully say it was her own hair! The use of rats became so popular that it prompted the following sardonic advice from Godey's Lady's Magazine: "When a lady is in danger of drowning, raise her by the dress and not by the hair, which oftentimes remains in the grasp." It has also been said that hair in saved in receivers was used to make wigs, jewelry, love tokens and mourning mementos, but this was not necessarily the case. Straight, not tangled hair, was needed for these purposes, and therefore, was intentionally cut from the young lady's tresses. |
| Hauteur : | 8.5 |
| Diamètre extérieur : | 10.3 |
| Unité de mesure linéaire : | cm |
| Étiquette ou poinçon : | Painted on bottom in green "Hand painted". |
| Établissement : | Province of New Brunswick, Heritage Branch |
| Ville de l'établissement : | Fredericton |
| Province de l'établissement : | New Brunswick |
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