A wicker casket sits in a darkened room resembling a Victorian funeral parlor. Balanced on casket stands and surrounded by floral displays in a corner of the Anaheim museum’s main gallery, this coffin was designed not for burial but for display of the deceased during a home wake, according to Aimee Aul, Education Specialist at Muzeo. It’s just one of many fascinating examples of Victorian mourning customs on view within Muzeo Museum and Cultural Center’s current exhibition, Eternal Mourning: Death & Remembrance in Victorian America, open until October 27, 2024. I recently had a chance to interview Executive Director Kelly Chidester and Education Specialist Aimee Aul about their involvement with this exhibit at the Anaheim Museum and how they found artifacts that explore the story of Victorian death and mourning.

“This was really our Education Specialist’s idea, Aimee Aul,” said Chidester. “We always lead with scholarship here – so although we have pretty mourning dresses, intimidating medical instruments, and (some might think) odd post-mortem photographs on display, we provide scholarly context so that our patrons leave our programs empowered and connected to the content.”

Eternal Mourning, curated in-house by Muzeo staff under the direction of Chidester, is rooted within the historical context of the Victorian era, spanning Queen Victoria’s reign from 1837 to 1901. According to Muzeo’s exhibition statement, this period was marked by major upheaval, particularly due to the Industrial Revolution, urbanization, overcrowding, hazardous living and working conditions, and the resulting spread of diseases, such as cholera and tuberculosis, which in turn led to lower life expectancy, especially for infants and children.

“The United States faced additional turmoil with the Civil War, resulting in significant loss of life. President Abraham Lincoln’s assassination in 1865 deepened the nation’s grief following the war,” wrote Muzeo’s in-house curators. “During this time, death became a prominent cultural fixation in the Western world. Mourning customs, such as wearing black attire, intensified, reflecting societal attitudes toward loss. Exploring artifacts like mourning attire, hair jewelry, and post-mortem photographs, alongside historical events like Queen Victoria’s mourning and Lincoln’s funeral tour, provides Americans with an opportunity to reflect on our own perspectives on mortality.”

As a curatorial assistant at Cal State Fullerton, Chidester had worked on a post-mortem photography exhibition titled “Beyond the Dark Veil” and found the subject fascinating. After the university’s exhibit ended, she knew she would explore this type of photography again. For Eternal Mourning, Chidester and her team spent months doing research and writing the text. Most of the design decisions and artifact coordination happened in the few months leading up to the opening. She explained that the exhibit layout follows the grim process of death.

“You begin in the ‘sickroom,’ learning why death was so prevalent in the Victorian era. Then proceed to death in the home with the Victorian parlor, funerary practices, and post-mortem customs. Then you enter the mourning period with the clothing and jewelry,” said Chidester.

Aimee Aul, who is not only under contract with Muzeo as their Education Specialist but also volunteers as a tour guide for the Fullerton Museum Center’s long-running Haunted Walking Tours, has always had a fondness for all things ghostly and macabre, so helping with this show was right up her alley. “I love the parlor scene with the wicker coffin, kneeling chair, and other objects,” said Aul. “The wicker coffin is a typical parlor casket. It dates from the late 19th century and was acquired from a private collection. The wicker design of the coffin allows for air circulation to reduce the odor of decay.”

Meanwhile, Chidester’s favorite items in the show are the Victorian medical instruments on loan from the Anaheim Public Library. The instruments reflect how little was known about medicine at the time. “All from an Anaheim pharmacy, it gives our patrons a real link to the histories and hardships of the people that lived in the area.”

When I visited the exhibit on opening day, one of the first items I gravitated to was the Baby in Casket doll in the “sickroom” area of the show. According to the wall text, this object may have helped children cope with the reality of premature death. What I also noticed was that the artifact along with many other items on display were courtesy of an organization called Haunted Orange County. “They are quite well-known in the area, providing tours throughout OC,” said Chidester.

Aul explained that she saw Haunted Orange County’s artifact collection on display at a special short-term exhibit in Orange last year. She said, “It is a private collection acquired over many years from numerous sources. I don’t know if they’re haunted per se, but these artifacts sure have a presence! The hair jewelry, in particular, feels really personal and intimate, like you have a direct connection with someone who lived long ago.”

In addition to the Haunted OC items, Muzeo staff worked with local lenders, including the Anaheim Public Library’s Heritage Center, and scoured the internet, historical collections, and antique stores to find artifacts that tell the story of Victorian death and mourning. From curating this exhibit, Chidester and her team gained more of an appreciation for how death was treated in the past.

“We are so quick to ‘deal’ with death today,” Chidester said. “We see it as something to get over while the Victorians took time to process and honor the deceased. It’s such a stark contrast to today, and I think this was something we really wanted to explore in this exhibit.”

Eternal Mourning: Death & Remembrance in Victorian America is on view in Muzeo’s Main Gallery until October 27, 2024. Muzeo Museum and Cultural Center is located at 241 S. Anaheim Boulevard, and is open Wednesday through Sunday from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm. Admission for adults is $10; for children, students, seniors, and veterans, it costs $7. For further information, please visit https://muzeo.org/.