This is a thoroughly charming glimpse into the past through the eyes of a girl who kept a hair diary of family and friends through the collection of tresses of hair lovingly placed in an album. I do not have her name, but there are clues contained therein to the time period as well as where it is from.

Measuring 12 by 9 ½ inches, the album itself, is French in origin and simply a delight to behold. There is an applied medallion of a central figure of a woman in period costume surrounded by gilded and embossed flowers and vines on its very colorful calico paper front cover.

Inside, we are captivated by the family record contained within. On the first page and continuing on to the back of it are (I would venture to guess) the ribbon-adorned locks of the maker’s family (so labeled): “Father, Mother, Walter, Emma, Abbie, Nellie, Georgie John and Lizzie.”

Continuing on, we find the locks of Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles. On one page there are two tresses clad in the same color ribbon but, it appears by the color, taken at different times in the person’s life: “William Blaisdell, Age 20 months” and one above it simply labeled “William”.

There is even a lock labeled “Mrs. Andrews, 100 years old” as well as one from a friend who was visiting from Germany, “Mrs. Bernhard Flatau.”

As to its age and origin, there are but two clues. As to its age: there is a lock labeled “Aimee F. Carpenter, Feb. 12 – 1889”. This would be consistent with the time period of the album as well as the popularity of this type of memorabilia. Hair/Friendship albums reached their peak of popularity during the Victorian era.

As to its origin: There is a tress beneath which is scribed “Mrs C W Smith, Boston, Mass.”

The condition is excellent with no rip or torn pages. There are 20 pages in the album, but only 11 have tresses attached to them. The number of tresses per page varies from 6 to 1. The other pages have remnants of dries glue in each of the corners suggesting that there might have been photos or some type of paper attached. It appears they were removed a long time ago.

Price: SOLD