Grave Obsessions

Victorians didn’t hide from death. They dressed for it, photographed it, wore it as jewelry, surrounded it with elaborate cookies, and sometimes tried to speak with those who had crossed to the other side. In Grave Obsessions, historian and folklorist Rissa Miller explores the fascinating world of Victorian death culture, from cemetery symbolism to post-mortem photography, spiritualism, and all the strange etiquette that governed grief.
Discover why mirrors were covered, clocks were stopped, black-bordered letters arrived in the mail, and mourning could dictate everything from what you wore to when you were permitted to rejoin society. Beautiful, bizarre, and occasionally unsettling, Grave Obsessions reveals an era when death wasn’t pushed out of sight; it was woven into everyday life.
Cost is $40 and seats are limited.