Halloween Adventure

Every year we put out pumpkins, purchase candy, and decorate the house for the favorite holiday of young and old.  Yes, here it is Halloween again.   We like to change things up a bit every year and try something new.  This year's Halloween adventure has taken Yosiell and I to the Cameron-Stanford house, a beautiful restored Victorian on the edge of Lake Merritt.

A beautiful sunny October day at the Cameron-Stanford house.  

The house was built in 1876 by Dr. Samuel Merritt while he was developing the area.  He built several mansions along the lake shore, including his own.  The Camerons purchased the home and lived there for for six years, before Josiah Stanford and family moved in (older brother to Leland Stanford).   

On occasion, a docent will present a talk and open the house for visitors.  Today's talk?  "Seance and Sensibility," a talk about spiritualism in the Victorian era.  This is in conjunction with museum display "Morbid Desire, The Victorian Obsession with Death."  

The talk centered around the nexus of Science and Spiritualism at the turn of the last century.  Really, how Science relied on the senses and the Scientific minds of the times considered Spiritualism as a Science that lived beyond the realm of the senses.  A perfect subject for this time of year.  

After this hour long journey into the Victorian psyche, we were guided around the intimate space highlighting the Victorian obsession with death.  Why so obsessed?  With an expected life span of only 40 years, it became important to show that loved ones mattered, and that their lives had value.  

Mourning clothes were worn with strict rules.  Clothes for women  were  black and muted and for the first year  women were to be covered almost from head to toe in crape.  Women were not allowed to participate in social events except for family visits for the first year.  Year two a widow could wear a shiny black dress, and year three begin to move on to purple.  After three years, a woman could begin to attend social events and consider remarrying.  Men, on the other hand had only 3-6 months to mourn before social convention allowed for remarrying (the practical consideration was that men required a wife to care for the household and the children).  The symbol of the mourning period for men was a black arm band and work only if it did not interfere with business.  

A few bits of Momento Mori.  The long tube is a Lachrymatory or  tear catcher.  This is based on  ancient Greek and Roman tear catchers made of clay.  of course the Victorian version was made of glass and had many embellishments.  these Lachrymatory were most likely not used, rather left on a table in the house to ensure others knew the depth of mourning.   

This ring has strands of a departed loved one's hair.     The practice of memorializing a  loved one (especially children as so many passed away within the first few years of life), with hair in jewelry and artwork was a common practice.  

The cross is made from Gutta Percha, a rubber like gum from the resin of trees in southeast Asia.  When used for  momento more, it is molded rather then carved.  (By the way, dentists sometimes now-a-days use Gutta Percha for root canals if a person has allergic reactions to the traditional materials.   

Mourning became a significant business for dress makers and jewelry makers.  Mail order service  started as a result of  the  businesses providing mourning dresses and other mourning goods.  Because women needed a significant number of mourning dresses, British companies began delivering ready made dresses and soon the practice caught on for all manner of clothing needs.

This backdrop, unfolded from a wooden box, was used in parlors for displaying the deceased.   

Other interesting facts, home parlors were where the Victorian families would lay the deceased for viewing.  As the business of mourning began to increase, funeral parlors began to spring up.  This gave rise to the practice of calling a home parlor, the "living room" to reduce the association to the funeral parlor.  

As you can see, this subject was perfect for this time of year, although with a mourning period of anywhere from a year to three years, every day must have seemed like Halloween in Victorian times.  

After spending a good hour reviewing the extensive practices and the obsession of Victorians with death, we were able to tour the rest of the house.  

The first occupant of the house, the Cameron's, lost a daughter just after her fourth birthday.  The house is beautifully displayed and is set to showcase a few of the mourning practices of the time.  

Upon entering a Victorian home, a caller would present a calling card.  If the person was not at home, the card would be left on this table so the occupants would know of the visit.  The card would have a different corner bent to mean different things (i.e. the left corner bent to send condolences).  

A beautiful fireplace design (not the original but certainly from the era).

Often, Victorian families would pay for reproductions of paintings  and states to hang in a sitting room.  The third owner of the house (Hewes) enjoyed literature, and art and had many artworks commissioned for the sitting room. 

Fresh flowers often adorned the deceased to hide the smell of the decomposing body.  Often times Victorians would preserve the deceased by putting the body on special table filled with ice.  This display is of Gracie Cameron, the child that died suddenly at four years old,

Original hair art from the era.

This lamp, originally gas, also had an extension cord to a gas table lamp.

A reproduction of the original gas lamp on the wall (there were six different lamps in the room with this mermaid motif).

This side table originally housed a mummified cat.

What a jewel of a museum here in Oakland.   The tour was informative and intimate.  The docents were exceptionally knowledgable and the entire three hour sojourn transported us back to the Victorian era.  What a great way to commemorate Halloween.  I can't wait to attend more displays and more tours throughout the year.  i highly recommend this small jewel on Lake Merritt.

Painted pumpkins perched precariously prepping for public presentation! 

Halloween is a beautiful time of year here in Oakland.   I wish all of my friends and loved ones a very happy Halloween.