Description: Original, antique Victorian era botanical seaweed specimen, mounted on card.2 3/4" x 4 1/8" overall.A delicate seaweed specimen collected and skillfully attached to a mounting card long ago.Undated; circa 1875.Probably collected on a beach here in Rhode Island , possibly elsewhere in coastal New England ( Massachusetts or Connecticut, most likely ).Around 150 years old. Condition.Very Good, as-seen in the photos. Aesthetically pleasing; this would look great in a small picture frame. Carefully packed for shipment to the buyer.( #4 ) ------- Historical information : Seaweed Scrapbooking Many people today collect flowers to press between the pages of books, and some even gather them into scrapbooks.But how many have done the same with seaweed? During the Victorian era seaweed collecting was a popular occupation for young ladies ( we imagine that some young men engaged in it as well). It was a Romantic and sentimental way to explore the natural world for people who didn't study science particularly, but collected natural specimens as a social accomplishment.Seaweed collecting was a popular hobby for Victorians of the middle and upper classes - people of means with spare time to fill with such pursuits. Amateur collecting of souvenir specimens from nature was a culturally approved form of recreation ; seen as aesthetically pleasing, educational and morally beneficial.Queen Victoria herself, as a young girl, made a seaweed album, which helped to promote the activity in society. Seaweeds were arranged and carefully mounted so as to achieve an aesthetically pleasing effect. In the late 19th Century, a book, " Sea Mosses: A Collector’s Guide and an Introduction to the Study of Marine Algae " by A. B. Hervey, outlined how to properly press and mount various types of algae. The tools needed were a pair of pliers, scissors, a stick with a needle in the end, wash bowls, botanist’s drying paper or some kind of blotting paper, cotton cloth, and finally cards on which to to mount the specimens.Pliers and scissors are used to handle the specimens and cut away any extraneous branches, and the needle was used to carefully move the delicate plant to show the finer details. The drying and pressing process consisted of layering the mounting papers with various types of blotting cloth and additional paper topped with weights. With this process, carefully handled, most seaweeds would adhere to the mounting board via gelatinous materials emitted from the plant itself - no glue required. This delicate process exposed the beauty of the seaweed, but was also considered to reflect the character of the collector.Nature was at the center of the Victorian domestic imagination, and one reason for the appearance of various representations of the natural world in the parlour was the perception of nature as beautiful, and therefore worthy of display in the home.Collecting and carefully arranging seaweed demonstrated the participant’s refined sensibilities and their appreciation of nature’s more subtle forms of beauty.
Price: 25 USD
Location: Coventry, Rhode Island
End Time: 2024-09-23T15:20:41.000Z
Shipping Cost: N/A USD
Product Images
Item Specifics
Restocking Fee: No
Return shipping will be paid by: Buyer
All returns accepted: Returns Accepted
Item must be returned within: 30 Days
Refund will be given as: Money Back
Time Period Manufactured: Pre-1930
Victorian era Beach Coast Seaside Nature Collecting: Antique Old New England Souvenir Natural History
