Why do we keep things we don't need?

An old photograph. A handwritten letter. A piece of jewelry. A painting that doesn't quite match the room.

To someone else, these things might look ordinary. Maybe even useless.

But sometimes, we're not really holding onto an object.

We're holding onto a person. A moment. A place. A version of our life that we don't want to forget.

In this episode of The Haunted Canvas, we're exploring the stories we attach to the objects we keep, from a 300-year-old mourning locket and mysterious lover's-eye jewelry to wartime love letters, family heirlooms, and art created to preserve memories.

We'll also look at why the meaning of an object can change as it moves from one person to another, and how something ordinary can become extraordinary simply because of the story surrounding it.

Because sometimes, the things we hold onto...

are holding onto stories of their own.

Find me online: ⁠https://linktr.ee/thehauntedcanvaspodcast⁠

Sources:

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/16782

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/5263

https://glo-co.org/dictionary-entries/hairwork/

https://www.lancastermoah.org/single-post/remembering-the-dead-hair-art

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/victorians-made-jewelry-out-of-human-hair-180948192/

https://www.masshist.org/features/mourning-jewelry/colonial

https://waltonsjewelry.com/blogs/style/the-fascinating-world-of-mourning-jewelry

https://www.thehenryford.org/collections/explore/articles/mourning-jewelry-at-the-henry-ford

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/19568

https://www.ushmm.org/collections/the-museums-collections/artifacts-unpacked/the-love-letters

https://www.loc.gov/exhibitions/treasures-from-the-library-of-congress/about-this-exhibition/personal-narrative/threading-family-history/