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The Great War (1914-1918) Forum

Remembered Today:

HAIR


bobpike

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From a friend -..

"There's a girl whose hair I have. Literally. She was the first civilian killed in the Battle of Saarburg at the beginning of the Great War. It was a French/German affair so little known here.

"Lucie was killed by a shell splinter. Her hair was then used as a decorative memorials.

Any further information would be much appreciated

 

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Apologies I forgot the most important information, she was

 

Lucie Reichheld 1897-1914 'Saarburg'

 

Hair memorial keepsake image.jpg

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15 hours ago, bobpike said:

"Lucie was killed by a shell splinter. Her hair was then used as a decorative memorials.

Any further information would be much appreciated

 

Hi Bob,

Lovely to meet you on Gallipoli back in 2019

re your question - have you seen this

https://gw.geneanet.org/samibis?lang=en&iz=2&p=lucie&n=reichheld

 

Keep well & very best regards

Michael

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Thank you Michael indeed it was. Hopefully we shall go there this year if the world returns to normal1

Interesting on poor Lucie,

Robert

 

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These  memorial/keepsake items...not sure if I like it or find it repulsive. 

They always seem to creep me out.

The one thing that is very important though if I might just err on a positive is that it keeps her memory alive and that is a good thing. 

 

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 12/01/2021 at 18:08, bobpike said:

Any further information would be much appreciated

 

Hi Robert, not sure whether you mean further information about Lucie herself or the use of hair in a memorial object?

 

It was very common during the 18th and 19th centuries to use hair as keepsakes -- woven into watch chains, set in brooches and rings, ground up to make paint, etc. There are also albums full of locks of hair, often braided with ribbons and/or flowers; they were given as tokens of friendship. Lucie's hair seems to be arranged as flowers; this article explains how to make them. "Hair flowers are made by wrapping the hair around a rod and using a fine wire to hold it together.  Depending on the size of the rod and the amount of hair used, different looks are produced.  Wired loops of hair are slipped off the rod and can be shaped into different sizes and shapes of flowers, leaves and tendrils."

 

Hair art (for lack of a better phrase) seems to have reached its peak in the mid to late 19th century, so I wonder if an older relative made up Lucie's hair in this way.

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You are probably right. Hair arrangement was a part of "death art" . Sorry to use a unconvenient term, but it is a reality.

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