This decidedly Gothic version of my lay-flat Cotton Rag Sketchbooks has been popular in the past couple of weeks, which has surprised me for May (but it really shouldn't, because a Goth is for life, not just for Samhain). It was inspired by a Victorian Gothic event at the Russell-Cotes Art Gallery and Museum. Russell-Cotes is an incredible treasure trove of artefacts collected by Annie and Merton Russell-Cotes during their world travels, and holds significant pre-Raphaelite paintings, including Rossetti's Venus Verticordia, and others from more recent times. It's also a brilliant example of Victorian interior design.
The Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum looking appropriately Gothic on the night of our visit.
I've been fascinated by 18th century Gothic fiction, mid-Victorian culture and pre-Raphaelite art since my university days so this event was right up my street! Volunteers wore period-accurate clothing, as did many visitors, with some in Goth and Steampunk attire, too. We enjoyed dramatic readings from Gothic literary classics (Anne Radcliffe's A Sicilian Romance, and Horace Walpole's The Castle of Otranto are great introductions to early examples of the genre) and also had the opportunity to handle various artefacts, including mourning fashion garments and stationery.
Mourning stationery was first used in Europe during the 17th century and black-edged envelopes and letters had become a common feature of 19th century life. Its commonality was probably as much due to the frequency of bereavement as it was to fashion. But mourning stationery became most popular after 1861 when Queen Victoria used it after the death of her beloved Prince Albert. And when Queen Victoria died in 1901, black-edged paper and envelopes were readily available in stationers.
Black-edged stationery wasn't just used to announce a death, it was used for all correspondence during the period of mourning, perhaps for a year or two. A thicker black border might indicate a very close relationship to the deceased; a spouse or child. Otherwise it might indicate how recently the bereavement occurred; black borders might become thinner over time, in the same way that dress moved from black, to grey, to lilac.
I understand from Wikipedia that at that same time the tradition spread to the USA where newspapers would use black-edged text borders for death announcements, and that this practice was also used in West Africa. If you know anything about that, please share in the comments section below.
As you can see from Merton Russell-Cotes' letter above, mourning stationery was still in use in Britain during the 1920s. Our most recent queen, Elizabeth, was quite the moderniser and did not use the black border and I don't recall seeing it in my lifetime (I was born in 1978). It's usual still for people to send condolence / sympathy cards but, perhaps because letter writing is not as commonplace as it once was, and neither is experiencing frequent bereavement over one's lifetime, black-edged envelopes and letter-writing paper are rarely seen today.
Interestingly, a volunteer at the Russell-Cotes event - and separately a friend - told me that black-edged mourning stationery was still common in Germany well into the 1980s, and I wonder if it's a tradition in your country? Please let me know in the comments, I'd love to learn more from your experience.
A black velvet ribbon and black stitching lends a Gothic touch to this Cotton Rag Sketchbook.
I'd intended to offer this cotton rag sketchbook not just with the black spine stitching and velvet ribbon, but with a black border on the pages too, to truly evoke the most recognisable feature of mourning stationery. Unfortunately, despite trying different inks and methods, I wasn't terribly happy with the results.
But I may try again in time for Samhain / Hallowe'en. What do you think? Let me know in the comments or feel free to contact me directly, I'd love to hear from you.
I hope you've enjoyed this introduction to Victorian mourning stationery. If you'd like a new art journal with a tinge of Victorian Gothic, you can you can buy this and similar Cotton Rag Sketchbooks here.
Susan the bookbinder
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Exposed-spine lay-flat binding incorporates a black velvet ribbon to keep this cotton rag sketchbook closed for travel or archiving.
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