Mourning fan

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This fan belonged to Amelia Beard Hollenback (1844-1918), wife of the prominent financier and philanthropist John Welles Hollenback (1835-1923). The fan was most likely part of Amelia's mourning wardrobe worn after the death of her closest sister, Julia Beard (1849-1887). Made up in the appropriate materials and dimensions of the late 1880s, women continued to follow the dictates of fashion even during mourning.

The Costume Institute

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Costume Institute's collection of more than thirty-three thousand objects represents seven centuries of fashionable dress and accessories for men, women, and children, from the fifteenth century to the present.

Metropolitan Museum of Art