Framed collection of four locks of hair of Dorothea Mackellar and her brothers, ca. 1890s

R 1023

fonds

ca. 1890s

826031

1 object - 4 locks of hair in a heart shaped frame - 26 x 22.3 cm.

The item was purchased by Keith Ball, a dealer in antiques, in a sale of the effects of Dorothea Mackellar after her death in 1968. It was then purchased by the donor, John MacPhee in May 1979.

A framed collection of four locks of hair, one for each of the children of Sir Charles Kinnaird Mackellar (1844-1926) and his wife Marion (d. 1933) including a lock of hair of the writer Isobel Marion Dorothea Mackellar (1885-1968) who achieved fame for her poem 'My Country.' The other locks belong to her 3 brothers: Keith Kinnaird Mackellar (1880-1900); Eric Buckland Mackellar (1882-1950); and Malcolm Mackellar (1889-1943). The locks are arranged on a cream grosgrain silk background and presented in their original heart shaped leather frame. Pinned to each lock is the name of its owner in gold metal. The hair locks are faded to a pale silver though some traces of the original colour remian - it is noted by Dorothea Mackellar's biographer that she had deep auburn hair. The item is undated and carries no inscription but is presumed to have been assembled by the family during the 1890s after the birth of the fourth and last child.

Reference:
Library correspondence file