Vanitas painting by Adriaen van Nieulandt, 1636, showing a skull with a fly perched on the head, with a bone lying next to it. There are withering flowers in a vase, a few petals have already fallen. There are coins, a shell, and pearls, a stack of books, and a butterfly.

#MementoMoriMonday
Vanitas, Adriaen van Nieulandt, 1636. Dying flowers, a fly on a skull, books and treasures--with emphatic mottos: "Equid sunt aliud, quam breve gaudium?": What are these other than a brief joy? "mourir pour vivre": Die to live
#TheVictorianBookoftheDead
Frans Hals Museum

The tombstone of Paul G. Lind [Ebbighausen] modelled to look like a Scrabble board. It has a red border and multicolored tiles spelling out words describing the young man.

#NationalScrabbleDay The tombstone of Paul G. Lind, scrabble enthusiast.
www.findagrave.com/memorial/176...
#TheVictorianBookoftheDead

Gold ring with black enamel swirl patterns and framing pearls set in the bezel. One pearl is missing.

#TheVictorianBookoftheDead Mourning ring in gold, black enamel, and pearls, inscribed
“In loving memory…W. Hunsley Greaves…15th Oct 1894, Aet. 66”.
www.bonhams.com/auction/1411...

Black fabric bonnet trimmed with twisted black fabric under the crown and around the brim.

Rear view of black fabric bonnet showing twisted black trimming and bavolet.

#TheVictorianBookoftheDead Mourning bonnet, c. 1840. The trimmings are twisted mourning crape [most common 19th century spelling for the fabric]. The bavolet is also made of crape.
www.museumscollections.norfolk.gov.uk/collections-...

A framed memorial print showing a tomb topped with a flaming urn before a weeping willow. Other tombstones and a church are seen in the foreground and background. A ribboned wreath made of hair stands before the tomb.

A detail of a framed memorial printing showing flowers and brass and several tombstones next to a large monument inscribed "In Memory Of" with a ribboned wreath of hair before it.

#TheVictorianBookoftheDead Young Adaline Van Buren died #OnThisDay, 1849. This Currier memorial print has the details written on the tomb: In Memory of Adaline Van Buren who died April the 12 1849—aged 6 years & 3 months & twenty one days. A wreath made of Adaline's hair stands before the tomb.

An 18th or early 19th century funeral showing a group of weeping mourners in white and black garments/cloaks and veils walking by a hand-carried bier shrouded in black and topped with white plumes. 2 mutes with white sashes and staves walk in front of the bier. The parsons walk before the mutes. There are several funeral carriages driving ahead of the walking mourners up a hill.

#ForteanFriday #PhantomsFriday
Some tales of phantom and dream funerals--invariably an omen of death.
The mourners in white, white plumes, and white draped mutes in the picture suggest a young person's funeral.
thevictorianbookofthedead.wordpress.com/2025/10/01/p...
#TheVictorianBookoftheDead

Carved wooden model of a hearse. The hearse is drawn by two black horses and driven by a driver in a top hat and black clothing. The hearse itself has an oval window trimmed in gold paint and gold finials on the roof.

Carved wooden model of a hearse. The hearse is drawn by two black horses and driven by a driver in a top hat and black clothing. The hearse itself has an oval window trimmed in gold paint and gold finials on the roof.

The back of a carved wooden hearse, showing the inside, containing a coffin.

#TheVictorianBookoftheDead Folk art carved wooden hearse by Marshall B. Fleming of New Creek, West Virginia, 1980s. The hearse on which it was modeled was used by a local funeral home. The hearse is drawn by two black Percherons and inside there is a tiny corpse in a coffin.
Former eBay listing

Gold mourning ring, the bezel in white enamel framed in black and gold, showing a black and gold urn set with diamonds on the base and lid.

reverse of a gold mourning ring showing a glass-covered compartment containing a lock of hair.

A mourning ring in gold, enamel, and diamonds, for Elizabeth Rotton, who died #OnThisDay 1797. It is inscribed "Eliz Rotton ob 9 April 1797 ae 71," and has a hair locket on the reverse containing a lock of her hair.
1stdibs.com
#TheVictorianBookoftheDead

Half-mourning dress in black with ivory/white bands and fringes edged in black lace. Long train with scalloped edge in the back.

Half-mourning dress in black with ivory/white bands and fringes edged in black lace. Long train with scalloped edge in the back.

#TheVictorianBookoftheDead Half-mourning gown in black silk with white trim covered in black cotton laces, edged with white fringe. c. 1872-74.
www.metmuseum.org/collection/t...

Wood engraving of an oblong coffin either covered with watered silk fabric or wood-grained. There is a glass viewing portal at one end and a series of fancy handles around the edge. https://collections.musee-mccord-stewart.ca/en/objects/20139/cercueil?ctx=73febe61fee8dfa25a7309ff377267968bf3d67f&idx=42

#WyrdWednesday
1885 #riddle
There was a man who bought a thing,
The thing he bought he did not want,
The man who sold it could not use it,
The man who used it did not know it.

(It was a coffin.)
#TheVictorianBookoftheDead

A bisque beer stein shaped like a skull with grinning teeth. The lid has greyish metal surround and an acanthus leaf thumbpiece. Bohne skull stein, Milwaukee, c. 1900,

#TheVictorianBookoftheDead #NationalBeerDay
Sexton (drinking with undertaker): “That was a severe coughing fit.”
Undertaker: “Oh, it is just a little ale which went down the wrong way.”
Sexton: “Ah, that’s just like you. You always lay the coffin on the bier.”
collection.mam.org/details.php?...

Black and white tête de mort of a skull and cross bones set before a book. The skull is made up of two men in pork-pie hats drinking beers, with the teeth made of beer bottles. Originally captioned "Medicine is such a dry subject."

#TheVictorianBookoftheDead #NationalBeerDay
"Medicine is such a dry subject."
Beer-drinkers tête de mort, 1909

Yellowish illustration of a cherub with wings carving a tombstone with a chisel and mallet. The tombstone has a weeping willow on it and the words "In Memory Of" There is an obelisk tombstone and an urn on a pedestal on the background.

#TheVictorianBookoftheDead #PlanYourEpitaphDay The Tombstone Censor tells you what you can and cannot have carved upon your gravestone.
thevictorianbookofthedead.wordpress.com/2019/01/16/t...

Black and beige bookplate for Otto Krenge showing an owl perched on a skull with a rising sun behind, framed in art nouveau lilies. The words "Mein Eigen!" are written in gothic script above the owl.

#MementoMoriMonday and #OwlishMonday mood. Mein eigen!

Bookplate for Otto Krenge, Atelier Stolle, Harzburg
Pratt Institute Libraries
#TheVictorianBookoftheDead

black cross inlaid with white flowers: a rose, clematis, daisies, and lily of the valley. It has a gold cap on the top of the cross and a fancy loop for suspension.

#TheVictorianBookoftheDead Pietra dura mourning cross set with a white rose, daisies, lily of the valley, and clematis (?).
#Easter

Woman in Victorian widow's weeds - long black dress, bonnet and veil, accepts a bunch of Easter lilies from a barefooted little boy in a green jacket and cap, carrying a basket of lilies. They stand before a rough stucco arch and a picket gate leading to a cemetery.

Sorg / Grief, Gunnar Aberg, c. late 1880s. #Easter #Easterlilies
#TheVictorianBookoftheDead
digitaltmuseum.se/011044501107...

A wood-engraving advertisement for a rat poison called Tord-Boyaux, showing a rat family mourning over a dead rat.

#TheVictorianBookoftheDead #WorldRatDay
Wood engraving advert for Tord-Boyaux rat poison, showing a rat family mourning over a dying rat. c. 1880
wellcomecollection.org/works/d6aem4hx

Printed satin mourning badge for William Henry Harrison showing an urn-topped tomb with a railing in front of it, backed by a weeping willow. "In Memory of Wm. H. Harrison, 9th President, U.S. Who Departed This Life April 4th, A.D. 1841, aged 68. Universally Lamented."

#TheVictorianBookoftheDead Died #OnThisDay in 1841, President William Henry Harrison, after a month in office.
Printed satin mourning badge for the late President.
www.historicnewengland.org/collections-...

A colored print showing the death of William Henry Harrison. Three men in black suits stand or sit at the foot of the red-draped bed. One has his face buried in his handkerchief. A man in a blue suit and a woman in a blue dress are in the right of the image. The woman covers her face with her hand. A minister stands on the other side of the bed, where the very pale president lies.

#TheVictorianBookoftheDead
Died #OnThisDay 1841, President William Henry Harrison. He was thought to have caught pneumonia from getting chilled during his inauguration, but may actually have died of typhoid.
Death of Harrison, April 4 A.D. 1841, N. Currier colored print
www.loc.gov/pictures/ite...

A woman sitting on her bed in a slip and robe, which is hanging off her shoulders, looks at a hat with a plume, while she pulls back the curtain to reveal rainy weather. The illustration was captioned "Easter Mourning"

#TheVictorianBookoftheDead #Easterbonnet #Easter
The Easter bonnet was an essential element of the Victorian/Edwardian woman's wardrobe. Sadly, it often became a matter of life and death.
Easter Bonnet Tragedies: 1892-1914
thevictorianbookofthedead.wordpress.com/2026/04/01/e...

French beaded immortelle in white and black beads wired in scallops. The beads frame a silver-metal crucifix under a dome of glass. There are beaded flowers in pale purple and green on one side of the crucifix.

French beaded immortelle in white and black beads wired in a web pattern.The beads frame a silver-metal crucifix under a dome of glass. There are beaded flowers in pale purple and green on one side of the crucifix.

#TheVictorianBookoftheDead #GoodFriday A French immortelle in black, white, purple, green, and yellow beads. At the center is a pressed silver-metal (perhaps silvered tin) crucifix under glass. These were periodically renewed on holidays like All Souls Day and death anniversaries.

Carved wooden crucifix with INRI scross above the corpus. The base extends down with curves onto a skull and crossbones base.

#TheVictorianBookoftheDead #GoodFriday
Carved wooden crucifix with skull and crossbones base, Southern German, 18th c.
www.sothebys.com/en/buy/aucti...
#MementoMori

Cast iron toy hearse in grey with white wheels, gold and bronze details on the curtains and the columns.

Grey cast iron toy hearse with white wheels, bronze and gold detailing on the columns and curtains.

#TheVictorianBookoftheDead 1920 Meteor cast-iron toy hearse by Motorcade Toys. Gorgeous gold and bronze detailing on the columns and curtains.
Former listing on liveauctioneers.com

A black and white illustration of "Deep Mourning" showing a woman in a long black dress, a cape, and a bonnet with a long, flowing veil.

#TheVictorianBookoftheDead
1874: The fashion notes say, “mourning veils are worn very long now.” Perhaps about six months for a husband.
1891: “You can never measure how long a man will be missed in this world by the length of his widow’s veil.”
1901: The widow’s veil isn’t always a vale of tears.

Black mourning bonnet with white ruche, "Widow's peak" in the center, and a long, black crape veil.

#BookologyThursday
"I got her a crape veil. She's the happiest mourner you ever saw. She went back to the Widows' Home like a spring lamb. She doesn't even cry. But she takes it out in crape. You can't think how happy she is in that veil."
A Singular Life, Elizabeth Phelps
#TheVictorianBookoftheDead

beige paper background to a black chalk drawing of a jolly, skeletal, walking death figure holding a dart.

#TheVictorianBookoftheDead Death says "Howdy!" for #NationalWalkingDay
Lopend Skelet, Gesina ter Borch, c. 1656
www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/collectio...

1818 fashion plate showing a walking mourning dress and coat and bonnet. The coat is edged in black braid; the skirt has two rows of pleated flounces, The bonnet has a spray of flowers on it.

1830 mourning walking dress showing a skirt short enough to show the feet, a long jacket with a twisted edging and a large bonnet trimmed with blue-grey ribbons. She also carries an umbrella and a handkerchief.

1901 illustration of mourning walking dress. The skirt has two tiers and a front panel of mourning crape. The lapels and sleeves are also trimmed with crape. The mourner wears a bonnet with a scalloped edge and a veil and carries a thin walking stick.

#TheVictorianBookoftheDead #NationalWalkingDay Mourning walking dresses, c. 1818, 1830, 1824
tessa.lapl.org/cdm/singleit...
collections.lacma.org/node/253024
La Mode Illustrée

April Fool’s Day Horrors: 1870-1912 If we were to examine the standard-issue prank repertory of the vintage April Fool’s day, it would include old chestnuts like the hat-covering-a-brick trick or the wallet-on-a-string. Epicures woul…

#AprilFoolsDay #TheVictorianBookoftheDead
April Fool's Day Horrors were no joke. Sharing ghoulish fooleries, the ones involving fake corpses, staged murders and suicides. All in good fun, of course.
thevictorianbookofthedead.wordpress.com/2020/04/01/a...

Four pictures of women wearing crape mourning hats, two with veils.

#TheVictorianBookoftheDead Latest Modes in Mourning Millinery, 1905

black and white image of a memorial card from 1905. There are two pillars holding flower arrangements with long, drooping foliage. A poem is printed on the scroll in the center. Above the scroll is a sunburst and an oval-framed portrait of a little boy in a furry white beret and collar.

poem printed on greyish scroll vignette. As fading snowdrops gently sink Upon the cold earth’s breast So gently sank my darling child To his eternal rest. My loved one! Oh my loved one! I shall see him yet again When I too am transplanted From this world of grief and pain.

Memorial card for John Russell Archbold, died 31 March, 1905, aged 6 years
collections.nationalmuseumsni.org/object-hoyfm...
#TheVictorianBookoftheDead
A poem on the scroll begins:
As fading snowdrops gently sink
Upon the cold earth’s breast
So gently sank my darling child
To his eternal rest.