After the death of Prince Albert in 1861, Queen Victoria's profound mourning rituals influenced grief practices that crossed the Atlantic, deeply affecting American customs in the 1800s. Join us for a fascinating exploration of Victorian mourning traditions with an up-close look at pieces from Virginia Shelton’s personal archive of Victorian artifacts. Discover the stages of mourning, and sample traditional 19th-century funeral cookies.

Virginia Shelton, a Memphis-based expert in mourning jewelry and lifelong history enthusiast, developed her passion for Victorian customs after a visit to Elmwood Cemetery nearly 30 years ago. Since then, she has dedicated herself to studying and collecting Victorian rings, brooches, lockets, necklaces, and death photography.