Object details
Object number
U27e58
Creator(s)
Title
Envelope with a Lock of John Keats's Hair
Date
1821
Medium
Ink on paper, human hair
Dimensions
8.7 x 11.2 cm (3 7/16 x 4 7/16 in.)
Signatures, inscriptions, and markings
Inscribed in ink (in Isabella Stewart Gardner's hand): Hairs from Keats' (sic) head cut off by Seavern on Keats's deathbed
Provenance
Entered Isabella Stewart Gardner's collection at an unknown date.
Commentary
This envelope containing a lock of Keats’s hair commemorates the passing of the great poet. Many nineteenth century Americans and Europeans saved locks of hair from the recently deceased to honor their memory. Gardner also acquired the hair of contemporary celebrities and displayed these mementos in archival cases throughout her museum.
Gallery
Long Gallery
Case
Earlier Authors Case
Rights and reproductions
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