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2025

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Book Illustration, Charles T. Menge's Price List of Ornamental Hair Jewelry and Device Work, plate 37

This is a book illustration. It was written by Charles T. Menge and published by Charles T. Menge. It is dated ca. 1873. Its medium is engraving on paper. It is a part of the Smithsonian Libraries department.

While one could find numerous DIY hair jewelry instructions in the ladies’ journals of the Victorian era, jewelers also offered an impressive selection of hair jewelry designs. Hair jewelry represented the closest link two people could forge, as it allowed you to carry a little bit of another person with you always and everywhere. The unique keepsake quality of hair jewelry contributed to its pricing: for example, the design for brooch no. 266 is listed at $9, which would be around $170 today; the most expensive item in the book would run close to $770 today.

It is credited Collection of Smithsonian Institution Libraries.

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<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://www-4.collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/68776363/ |title=Book Illustration, Charles T. Menge's Price List of Ornamental Hair Jewelry and Device Work, plate 37 |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=5 February 2025 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>