Victorian Tear Catchers
.
The myth…
The Victorians were experts in the art of mourning.
They wore black for extended periods, wove human hair into elaborate wreaths, and wept it is said, into delicate glass bottles called “tear catchers.”
Victorian ephemera is popular these days, as is their fascination with death, so mourning artifacts are in high demand.
Vintage tear catchers, also called “lachrymatory bottles,” and can be found in online auctions and marketplaces, as well as through estate sales and antique stores.
During the 19th century, and especially in America during and after the Civil War, tear catchers were used as a measure of grieving time.
Once the tears cried into them had evaporated, the mourning period was over.
It’s a beautiful idea, but no one really cried into the bottles…..
The fact.
In truth, both science and history agree that there’s really no such thing as a tear catcher.
The bottles most people like to collect are usually clear blown glass, decorated with patterns, gilding, and colorful enamel.
These are simply nothing more, than Victorian throwaway perfume bottles!
But the “tear catcher” term has stuck, through a combination of historical romantical accident, and deceptive, yet effective, marketing.
The myth likely began with archaeologists.
Small glass bottles were often found in tombs, and early scholars romantically labelled them lachrymatories or tear bottles.
Those glass bottles held perfume and unguents, not tears.
Scientists have performed chemical tests on these flasks and they disproved the romantic ‘tear’ theory.
The true uses of the decorative bottles, are rarely disclosed, as collectors are still obsessed with Victorian mourning paraphernalia, and many customers don’t want to believe that they are simply perfume bottles.
While some sellers of these very pretty objects are honest, and sell them in the perfume section of their shops, others are not so trustworthy.
The Internet is, in a lot of ways, to blame.
Theoretically, the internet is its own folklore-creating machine.
If data gets shared enough times, it is considered true, and that can be said for lots of things!……..
