Attention Xashee re: I shopped e-bay

First, thank you for visiting my blog. I hope you will return. Like you, I'm fascinated by vintage articles and have a particular love of the Victorian. The vanity accessories I purchased are later than that, having been made sometime in the 1920's. Still, the hair receiver is an idea that goes back at least 'til Victorian times.

Perhaps you have heard of or seen some of the Victorian mourning jewelry made from hair? If not, here is a site that will give you a little history on the subject and has excellent photos of such jewelry.
http://www.historic-northampton.org/601081/601508/800/

Although those who are familiar with hair jewelry tend to think first of mourning jewelry, hair jewelry was often made and given as tokens of affection. Ladies, in particular, would save the hair that accumulated in their brushes and combs tucking it into "hair recievers" like the one in my post that has an opening in the lid. When sufficient hair had accumulated, it was sorted, cleaned, etc. and used to make "rats" which were a sort of matted ball or roll of hair that were used like stuffing to form the sort of hairstyles you see on Gibson girls, or buns etc. I recall that in the 50's and early 60's when women still wore hairstyles like beehives, French twists, and buns with a ponytail coming through the center that there were "rats" then too. At that point in time, however, they were a sort of plastic mesh shape that you put beneath your hair to plump it up. Same function, different material.

Aside from "rats," the hair collected was also fashioned into remembreance jewelry -- bracelets, rings, brooches, earring dangles, even necklaces. Can you imagine wearing a necklace of braided and twisted hair? The thought makes me itch! Sometimes these remembrances were simple things like a little braid of hair that a woman might give her husband or boyfriend to tuck inside his pocketwatch case (they often had places for photos and such. Or a man might give such a braid or lock to his wife or girlfriend to wear in a locket along with his photo. The pieces of hair jewelry that are mourning jewelry were made, as you might suspect, from gathered hair of the dearly departed and as such were greatly treasured momentoes.

I hope this helped answer your question in regard to hair receivers.