Earrings
1855
Metal hoop with crocheted chain of human hair attached to loop.

Hair jewelry was fashionable in the mid-1800s. The hair may have been from a deceased relative, or given by a friend or lover as a memento. Ladies often wove the hair as a hobby or purchased the jewelry from a professional hair weaver. Although none of the hair or jewelry is associated with the Lincolns, the styles would have been familiar to Mary Lincoln.

Brass, hair. Dia 3.2, D .2 cm
Lincoln Home National Historic Site, LIHO 717