"...at the bottom of Kingsdown Hill we met a gentleman in a buggy, who, on minute examination, turned out to be Dr. Hall—and Dr. Hall in such very deep mourning that either his mother, his wife, or himself must be dead."
[Letter from Jane Austen to her sister Cassandra, 17th May 1799]
Mourning was the time after a person's death when their relatives and friends remembered their departed relative or friend and grieved their loss. Mourning in the Regency period was a more formal convention than it is today, and someone who was mourning a close relative would have been instantly recognisable by their clothes and behaviour.
There were three main types of mourning:
Loss of a loved one - the genuine sorrow for the death of a beloved close friend or relative. The dictionary definition of mourning clothes as the "dress of sorrow" reflects this very personal loss.
Court Mourning - the official mourning required for domestic and foreign royalty, as dictated by the Royal Court.
Society Mourning - the respectful mourning for dignitaries such as Prime Ministers and wartime heroes like Lord Nelson, "in compliance with the customs of the world". It would be the equivalent today of the public grief following the death of a popular musician or actor.
Colours of Mourning
The traditional colour of mourning in Britain was Black. The earliest record of black as a mourning colour dates from the time of King Edward III in the 14th century, although purple and brown were also used at various times.
However, where the deceased was considered an innocent, i.e. infants, children, and young men and women under the age of 21, dying unmarried, the scarves, hat bands and gloves of mourning could also be White.
The whole etiquette of mourning was designed to protect those who had lost a loved one. The sight of black crape was a sure sign of the family being in mourning, without the need for anyone to ask uncomfortable questions.
After a certain amount of time had passed, those in mourning could introduce other colours. A mixture of black and white, or plain grey were most popular, but shades of purple, including lavender, mauve and lilac were also acceptable.
Mourning Dress
"I am to be in bombazeen and crape, according to what we are told is universal here, and which agrees with Martha's previous observation. My mourning, however, will not impoverish me, for by having my velvet pelisse fresh lined and made up, I am sure I shall have no occasion this winter for anything new of that sort. I take my cloak for the lining, and shall send yours on the chance of its doing something of the same for you, though I believe your pelisse is in better repair than mine. One Miss Baker makes my gown and the other my bonnet, which is to be silk covered with crape."
[Letter from Jane Austen to her sister Cassandra, 15th October 1808, on the death of Edward Austen's wife Elizabeth]
The word "mourning" described both the period of time after a death and also the particular clothing worn during that time. So they wore mourning during their mourning. Although everyone wanted to wear clothes that reflected their grief, the business of mourning clothes was something not everyone could afford.
Even in the late 1700s, special clothes for mourning were limited to the aristocracy and gentry. It was an expensive luxury to buy a whole new wardrobe of black; something the majority of the country could not afford. Over time the purchase of special mourning clothes spread to the upper classes and later the more affluent middle classes until, by the end of the Regency period, anyone who could afford to buy mourning would do so.
The poorest in society, who sometimes only had one or two sets of clothes to their name, might only be able to pin a piece of black ribbon or a scrap of crape to their everyday dress. Slightly better off working families could dye an existing item of clothing or buy something second-hand.
Those that could afford it would order brand new mourning clothes for the whole family. It was considered bad luck to keep mourning dresses and bonnets in the house ready to be used again, although reusing old cloaks and pelisses seems to have been acceptable. In cases where a death occurs while the family was still in mourning from a previous loss, new mourning clothes would not have been expected. They would just wear their current mourning for longer.
Cassell's Household Guide of 1869 mentions that "...it has been customary for mourning apparel not to be put on until the day of the funeral but at the present time it is more usual to wear it as soon as possible."
I haven't yet found an early 19th-century source to confirm whether the "customary" practice existed during the Regency period but it makes sense, given that there was no ready-made mourning available at the beginning of the century, and all items of clothing were then stitched by hand.
If a family went into mourning, it would take a few days to have black clothes ready to wear. For a large family, it might easily take a week for everyone to have something ready for the funeral, so I wouldn't be at all surprised that mourning clothes were worn for the first time on the day of the funeral.
Men's mourning was far less onerous and noticeable, compared to women. Men might wear black coats and trousers or breeches even when they were not in mourning, while women rarely wore black unless they were in mourning. The main exception to this seems to be older widows who either continued wearing black long after their official mourning had ended, or those mature ladies who even then appreciated how flattering black could be to a fuller figure.
Black Armbands were only worn in military circles during the Regency period, as men who had to remain in uniform could not choose the colour of their coat. During this time, a piece of black crape was worn below the elbow, on the left forearm. They also wore crape on their sword knot and upon the cockade on their hat. This instruction seems to have originated with Court mourning, which frequently advised that "his Majesty does not require, that the officers of the army or navy should wear any other mourning on the present melancholy Occasion than a black crape round their left arm, with their uniforms."
In Britain, armbands were not commonly worn by non-military mourners until the Victorian era. However, in America, a band of black crape around the arm had been used to identify a man in mourning since the Revolutionary war, while ladies wore a black ribbon in their head dress. One writer in England commented on how much easier and cheaper the business of mourning would be if we followed the example of our American cousins!
Materials used for Mourning Dress
"Families going into mourning are requested to inspect their very extensive stock of black goods, viz. Italian Muslins, Bombazeens, Rasdimores for Widows; Armorzeens, Dress Barcelona Serges, Lutestrings, Double and Single Taffeties, Cyprus Sarsnets, &c. Warranted for wear, and Bombazets for servants, from 1s to 2s 6d per yard."
[Advertisement from Robarts & Plowman, Chandos Street, Covent Garden, Chester Chronicle, pub. 1st February 1799]
Different types of material were used for mourning wear. Dull, flat materials with no shine were used for first mourning, while shiny or glossy material, such as black silk or satin, was more suitable for second or court mourning. Black Chamois leather (often written as Chamoy) was used for shoes and gloves.
Some materials used for mourning dress included:
Armozeen - A fine black silk for second mourning.
Barcelona Serge - A twilled silk for second mourning.
Bombazine - A thin, plain worsted or twill weave fabric most often used for first mourning. Although often black it was also available in dark grey.
Bombazet - A thinner, cheaper quality worsted fabric, ideal for servants' mourning.
Broadcloth - a plain, heavy wool with a napped finish. Used for mourning clothes of men and women.
Crape - A crimped gauze of black silk, with a stiff texture. Used during deep mourning as an over-layer that would have a thicker material beneath it. For example, in 1810 one dress was described as black crape over black sarsnet. White crape was also available. Crape was also used to make scarves and fans. In second mourning it was used as trimming.
Cyprus - a "thin, transparent black stuff" or gauze, also available in white, used for mourning. It was an older material sometimes used in place of crape, for hat bands and trimmings.
Imperial Gauze/Gossamer Gauze - thin black materials, like crape, used as an over-layer to cover white or grey materials.
Lutestring - a plain, glossy silk, suitable for second mourning. It had been popular as a general dress material in the 18th century, but was falling out of fashion during the Regency.
Norwich Crape - despite its name, this material was more like bombazeen with its silk and wool mix. It was often worn for Undress, particularly during court mourning.
Radzimir - a black, all silk fabric used during second mourning.
Sarsnet - a fine, soft, silk material. Black sarsnet would have been suitable for second or half mourning, but not for full mourning.
Taffeta - a smooth, glossy, plain weave fabric, suitable for second mourning.
Mourning Jewellery
"A necklace and brooch of jet, put on in the Grecian style, partly shade the bust. Earrings, armlets, and bracelets of jet to correspond. Headdress, la toque de Ninon, is ornamented with a long plume of ostrich feathers which fall over to the left side, and a butterfly of jet is placed in the centre of the forehead. White leather shoes with jet clasps. White kid gloves."
[Description for a Half-Mourning Evening Dress, Ackermann's Repository of Arts & Science, pub. January 1819]
Mourning Jewellery fell into two groups. The simple, black jewellery worn by those in mourning, and those items given as mementoes of the deceased.
It was seen as being in poor taste for a person in early mourning to wear any ornamentation, particularly anything that drew attention to itself, like silver or diamonds. Even pins were blackened to avoid any visible glint of shiny metal. However, jewellery made of Jet, a coal-like gemstone with a dull sheen, was considered acceptable during second mourning. Items mentioned in fashion plates included necklaces and bracelets made of jet beads, a carved jet cross on a chain, ear-rings, jet clasps for shoes and carved jet brooches.
During half and court mourning, pearls and diamonds would have been acceptable, along with items made of black enamel.
Memorial Jewellery
"It is my further intention (whenever I find said honest attorney fit for my will) to leave sundry mourning rings with my hair value (blank)--one in particular to Charles Elmour, sen. Esquire ... Also another mourning ring to Frederick, the son of Charles Elmour, Esq. and ditto to Ellen his daughter, if I have hair enough under my wig."
[Almeria, Tales and Novels Vol. 5, by Maria Edgeworth]
After the period of deepest mourning, it was also acceptable to wear mementoes of the friends and family who had died. These were items of jewellery that commemorated the death and sometimes even incorporated the hair of the deceased. They were often made at the request of the person who died, and bequeathed to friends and family.
Commemoration jewellery might include the words "In Memory of..." with the name of the deceased engraved on the inside. Another phrase, used in a similar way, was "Memento Mori", which translates as: Remember you have to die.
Miniature portraits were a popular way to remember a loved one, and sometimes they included a lock of hair inside the case. Images could also be of mournful scenes, such as tombs, or mourners next to weeping willows, painted in sombre tones. These could then be incorporated into lockets, brooches and fobs for watch chains.
Mourning jewellery could be as simple as a lock of the deceased's hair, curled and protected behind a bezel of glass or crystal. This could then be set into a ring, a brooch or a necklace for a lady. A gentleman might have a stick pin, watch fob or cuff-links decorated in the same manner.
Jane Austen left instructions that items including a lock of her hair should be made into an item of jewellery for her niece Fanny:
"I have found some memorandums, amongst which she desires that one of her gold chains may be given to her god-daughter Louisa, and a lock of her hair be set for you. You can need no assurance, my dearest Fanny, that every request of your beloved aunt will be sacred with me. Be so good as to say whether you prefer a brooch or ring."
[Letter from Cassandra Austen to her niece Fanny Knight, 29th July 1817]
More expensive examples might weave the deceased's hair into a braid, which could be worn like a bracelet, or even use the individual strands of hair to create a picture, known as hairwork.
Mourning jewellery was made from combinations of jet, (also known as black amber) onyx, black enamel and gold, occasionally decorated with seed pearls.
The wearing of Memorial jewellery wasn't confined to the periods of mourning. In the case of a beloved relative, it could be worn as a memento for years afterwards.
Servants in Mourning
"I think he had something of the Elliot countenance, I wonder the arms did not strike me! Oh! the great-coat was hanging over the panel, and hid the arms, so it did; otherwise, I am sure, I should have observed them, and the livery too; if the servant had not been in mourning, one should have known him by the livery."
[Chapter 12, Persuasion by Jane Austen]
Servants in a household would often be given mourning clothes to wear when the deceased was their employer. In "Persuasion", Mr. Elliot's servant was dressed in mourning, rather than his usual livery, following the death of his mistress.
The materials for servant's mourning clothes were usually thinner, cheaper materials, such as Bombazet. If a family couldn't afford to offer new clothing they might at least provide black gloves for their staff to wear, particularly the footmen who were most visible to visitors.
When an infant died in an aristocratic household, the nursery staff might be the only ones given mourning, as they were the servants who would have spent the most time with the child.
[Image: Evening Dress, (for Court Mourning) Ackermann's Repository of Arts, December 1817, on the occasion of the Death of Princess Charlotte]
The subject of Mourning will be covered over four posts. The second post will cover the Degrees of Mourning. The third post describes the Periods of Mourning. The fourth post will cover Society and Court mourning.