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 my experiences at a Victorian Gothic event at the Russell-Cotes Art Gallery and Museum. This, one of my favourite places on earth, is an incredible treasure trove of artefacts collected by Annie and Merton Russell-Cotes during their world travels, it's a brilliant example of Victorian interior design, and it holds significant pre-Raphaelite paintings, including Evelyn de Morgan's Aurora Triumphans and Dante Gabriel Rossetti's Venus Verticordia.
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), displays and talks.
The Russell-Cotes Art Gallery & Museum looking appropriately Gothic on the night of our visit.
The Victorians were somewhat obsessed with death and the afterlife. You've perhaps heard of the popularity of spirit mediums conducting seances to contact the deceased, and the practice of taking photographic family portraits of a deceased loved one with living family members. The Victorians had some concerns about being buried alive, so sometimes a bell system was incorporated into a coffin so you could alert those above ground to your enlivened state! There were several amusing newspaper cartoons on display at the Russell-Cotes event, centring on a theme that could best be described as 'improbable ways to die':
Every cat owner knows this is actually a distinct possibility.
Wealthy Victorians returning from their travels in Egypt were quite in fashion if they hosted a 'mummy unwrapping party', where grave goods were handed out as gifts to guests. The event had a display and talk about this practice, which Merton and Annie Russell-Cotes did engage in, and I found it difficult to contemplate. There was something deeply disturbing to me about a body being excavated, shipped across seas as a commodity where wealthy white people from an entirely different culture thrilled over and profited in social status from the spectacle of its unwrapping. Different times, different values.
Onto something less contentious... We also had the opportunity to handle various artefacts at the event, including mourning fashion garments and memento mori such as jewellery made from deceased love ones' hair, and mourning 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 II, 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, nor 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 and didn't think you'd be, either.
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
contact form | +44 (0)7748 759371 | info@boundbyhand.co.uk
Exposed-spine lay-flat binding incorporates a black velvet ribbon to keep this cotton rag sketchbook closed for travel or archiving.
Comments will be approved before showing up.
Discover 10 Ways to Use a Mini Journal in your daily life. Practice mindfulness and engage with your creativity with these ideas from artists, poets, writers, business coaches and psychologists.
What do those professional bookbinding terms mean? Can I use any kind of glue? Where do I find waxed linen thread? Do I need special paper? Is that awl as good as the one I already have? I hear you. I was you.
Susan Green
May 22, 2025
Hi Donna, thanks for the comment. Strawberry Hill House sounds like a fantastic place to visit (and possibly even more OTT than Russell-Cotes?!). Dorset misses you but I hope you’re enjoying London life! Susan x