Civil War Era Hairwork Wreath with Cut Paper Border in Original Carved Frame schoolwork and all three lined up

and all three lined up in a neat row

but I also love more straightforwardly functional ones

There is a small loss to the bottom right serif on the “F” as documented

drawers open and close with ease

and it does seem a good one for use in practicing calligraphy in ink

Civil War Era Hairwork Wreath with Cut Paper Border in Original Carved Frame schoolwork and all three lined upI was thrilled to find this one at an antiques show last week to my sensibilities an ideal example of a hair work wreath. Mid 19th century, it features at least three or four different samples of hair, likely more, very finely gathered and looped and wound into buds forming the arch of the wreath and then into a larger bow like flower at bottom. All the better to me for being of this intimate scale, and rarer still for being mounted to a cut paper