‘I mourn for them I loved’: The Material Culture of Love and Loss in Eighteenth-Century England Jennifer A. Jorm Bachelor of Arts (History) Honours Class 1 A thesis submitted for the degree of Master of Philosophy at The University of Queensland in 2015 School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry i Abstract This thesis analyses the material culture of love and loss in eighteenth-century England through the lens of emotions. My study builds on scholarly works on material culture, emotions, death, love, and loss. It examines objects used to declare love, to express grief, and to say farewell. Chapter One introduces the historiography of this topic, outlines the methodology used, and problematises the issues and questions surrounding the relationship between individuals and objects during this period, such as the eighteenth century “consumer revolution,” and the rise of sentimentalism. This chapter also introduces what I term the “emotional economy,” or the value placed on an object based on emotional signficance regardless of its intrinsic value. Chapter Two explores love tokens and the role they played in not only the expression of romantic love, but the making and breaking of courtships and marriages. This chapter concludes that the exchange of tokens was vital to the expression of love, and was an expected emotional behaviour to progress a courtship into a marriage. Chapter Three explores the material culture of death, focusing on tokens created and distributed for the comforting of mourners, and the commemoration of the dead. It’s findings confirmed that mourners valued tokens and jewellery, particularly those made with hair belonging to the deceased in order to maintain a physical connection to their loved ones after their passing. Chapter Four presents two case studies wherein objects are examined for their emotional value and demonstrates how objects were used to express emotions amongst the lower orders. Both the tokens of the London Foundling Hospital and the coins painstakingly inscribed by convicts express their feelings about parting. In the case of the Foundling Hospital tokens, mothers expressed grief, love, and hope for their children. Convict tokens also express grief, love and hope, and compare their situation to those of slaves, beg their loved ones to remember them well, and not to forget them. Chapter Five concludes by finding that individuals relied upon objects to express emotions and asserts that by examining the connections between emotions and material culture we can discover more about the emotional lives of the eighteenth-century English. i Declaration by author This thesis is composed of my original work, and contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference has been made in the text. I have clearly stated the contribution by others to jointly-authored works that I have included in my thesis. I have clearly stated the contribution of others to my thesis as a whole, including statistical assistance, survey design, data analysis, significant technical procedures, professional editorial advice, and any other original research work used or reported in my thesis. The content of my thesis is the result of work I have carried out since the commencement of my research higher degree candidature and does not include a substantial part of work that has been submitted to qualify for the award of any other degree or diploma in any university or other tertiary institution. I have clearly stated which parts of my thesis, if any, have been submitted to qualify for another award. I acknowledge that an electronic copy of my thesis must be lodged with the University Library and, subject to the policy and procedures of The University of Queensland, the thesis be made available for research and study in accordance with the Copyright Act 1968 unless a period of embargo has been approved by the Dean of the Graduate School. I acknowledge that copyright of all material contained in my thesis resides with the copyright holder(s) of that material. Where appropriate I have obtained copyright permission from the copyright holder to reproduce material in this thesis. ii Publications during candidature Book Reviews: Jorm, Jennifer. 2014. The arts of remembrance in early modern england: Memorial cultures of the post reformation ed. by andrew gordon and thomas rist. Parergon 31, (2): 169-170 Jorm, Jennifer. 2015. Challenging Orthodoxies: The Social and Cultural Worlds of Early Modern Women. Parergon, accepted and forthcoming. Conference Papers: Hans Jakob Von Grimmelshausen’s “Courage”: A Case Study for Camp Women in Gendered Spaces During the Thirty Years War. Paper for the Australian Historical Association's Conflict in History Conference at the University of Queensland. July, 2014. ‘Most Wretched Creatures’: Violence and the Female Camp Follower 1500-1699. Paper for the Violence Studies Conference as the University of Newcastle, August, 2012. iii Publications included in this thesis No publications included. Contributions by others to thesis No contributions by others. Statement of parts of the thesis submitted to qualify for the award of another degree None. iv Acknowledgements I’d like to acknowledge my supervisors, Dolly MacKinnon, Sarah Pinto, and Andrew Bonnell for their support and guidance throughout the crafting of this thesis. Additionally I would like to thank the RHD admin officer Judy King, who fields anxious emails, last minute paperwork, and impromtu meetings, with grace and kindness. I must also acknowledge the many students and friends who have read drafts, attended milestone seminars, given advice, listened to both complaints and anxieties, and celebrated successes as if they were their own. Micheline Astley-Boden, Samuel Finch, Samantha Bedggood, Maria Quirk, and Kyle van Beurden – thank you for everything. The making of a thesis requires an immense amount of personal support. Thanks are also due to my friends Sarah Williams, Dayle Parker, Adrian Rogers, and Hank Morgan for being a wonderful support group. I couldn’t have done it without you. Thank you for dragging me out of the house, listening to my anxious prattle, and never once asking me why I didn’t just go get a job. I must also thank Pete Walsh, for everything. During the creation of this thesis, I’ve lost two loved ones, Emily Irene Davis, and Mary Louise Ross. This thesis is dedicated to them. v Keywords history, emotions, material culture, objects, tokens, eighteenth century, love, england Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classifications (ANZSRC) ANZSRC code: 210305, British History, 100% Fields of Research (FoR) Classification FoR code: 2103, Historical Studies, 100% vi Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................................. i Declaration by author ..................................................................................................................... ii Publications during candidature .................................................................................................... iii Publications included in this thesis ................................................................................................. iv Contributions by others to thesis .................................................................................................... iv Statement of parts of the thesis submitted to qualify for the award of another degree .................. iv Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................................... v Chapter 1 - Introduction .................................................................................................... 1 Historiography ............................................................................................................... 1 Emotionology ................................................................................................................ 6 Sentimentalism .............................................................................................................. 7 The “Consumer Revolution” ....................................................................................... 12 Thesis Structure ........................................................................................................... 17 Chapter 2 - Emotions and the Material Culture of Love ................................................. 20 Jewellery ...................................................................................................................... 36 Hairwork ...................................................................................................................... 41 Rings ............................................................................................................................ 44 Miniature Portraits ....................................................................................................... 47 Emotions and Tokens of Love ..................................................................................... 50 Chapter 3 - Emotions and the Material Culture of Death ................................................ 53 Chapter 4 - Emotions and Objects: Two Case Studies .................................................... 71 The Tokens of the London Foundling Hospital .......................................................... 71 Convict Love Tokens .................................................................................................