{"product_id":"victorian-silver-fern-locket","title":"Victorian Silver Fern Locket","description":"\u003cp\u003eVictorian silver locket engraved over the whole front with ferns radiation out from the centre. It hangs from its original articulated bail, and there's an old black-and-white photograph inside - not period with the locket, which dates from the 1870s (or thereabouts).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFerns were super important to the Victorians, indeed there was even a name for the craze that developed in Britain during the latter half of the 19th century: pteridomania. Charles Kingsley coined the term in 1855 in his book 'Glaucus, or the Wonders of the Shore'. At peak pteridomania, ferns appeared on wallpaper, clothing, ceramics, jewellery, furniture, gravestones, and even - according to one source - was even immortalised on the iconic \u003ca href=\"http:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/1\/hi\/magazine\/6966747.stm\"\u003ecustard cream\u003c\/a\u003e biscuit:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\"The little baroque swirls on the top, that's all Victorian because in the Victorian age there were a lot of ferns so the custard cream has ferns designed on it.\" \u003c\/em\u003e- Stuart Payne, biscuit expert, via the BBC.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSo why the obsession? There was obviously the famous \u003cem\u003eLanguage of Flowers \u003c\/em\u003e(aka \u003cem\u003eFloriography\u003c\/em\u003e), under which ferns represented \"fascination, magic, sincerity\" (what's not to like). But there was much more to the fern than that: Because ferns have no visible flower or seed, people decided the seed must be invisible. That led to the belief that anyone carrying fern seed would become invisible too. Brand’s 'Observations on the popular antiquities of Great Britain' (1793) says the seed only worked if gathered between eleven and midnight on Midsummer’s Eve. In Shakespeare’s 'Henry IV Part 1', Gadshill says, “we have the receipt of fern seed; we walk invisible”, and “receipt of fern seed” was still 19th-century slang for being invisible. Fern seed was also used as a love charm: young men went to Boggart Hole Clough near Manchester to gather it on St John’s Eve, hoping to win women who had turned them down.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEra: Victorian, circa 1870\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSize: 5.8cm by 3.3cm (including bail)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMarks: None, tested as sterling silver\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCondition: Good antique condition; light wear consistent with age. Internal fittings remain present, but the glass has been lost.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Lost Heirloom","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53137254547768,"sku":"LO3212","price":300.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0555\/7387\/2952\/files\/victorian-silver-fern-locket-5742152.jpg?v=1792177280","url":"https:\/\/lostowl.com\/products\/victorian-silver-fern-locket","provider":"Lost Owl Jewelry","version":"1.0","type":"link"}