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Items Lock of hair of Ludwig van Beethoven

Lock of hair of Ludwig van Beethoven

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Library division & collection with this item:

LIBRARY DIVISION
Music Division

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Lock of hair of Ludwig van Beethoven

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Title
Lock of hair of Ludwig van Beethoven
Names
Beethoven, Ludwig van, 1770-1827 (Contributor)
Theile, Friederike (Former owner)
Beethoven Association (New York, N.Y.) (Former owner)
Collection

Lock of hair of Ludwig van Beethoven

Dates / Origin
Date Created: 1827 (Inferred)
Library locations
Music Division
Shelf locator: Music Division - Beethoven's hair
Topics
Beethoven, Ludwig van, 1770-1827 -- Relics
Genres
Hair
Boxes
Notes
Biographical/historical: Taking a lock of hair as a keepsake in memory of those who died was not uncommon in the 19th century. Shortly after Beethoven's death on March 26, 1827, many visitors took a clipping of the composer's hair so that by the time of his funeral on March 29, most of his hair had been removed. (Information from Beethoven's hair (New York: Broadway Books, 2000) / Russell Martin.)
Ownership: Presumably the lock of hair was owned by the Beethoven Association which, upon its dissolution in 1940, donated it with other materials to the New York Public Library.
Physical Description
Extent: Approximately 30 strands
Description
A lock of grey hair. Mounted in a jewel-encrusted case with a glass covering.
Type of Resource
Three dimensional object
Identifiers
NYPL catalog ID (B-number): b21706307
NYPL Exhibition ID: TL 20.01.PERF29
Universal Unique Identifier (UUID): a4b21230-e5dc-0136-6f7f-53705690d340
Rights Statement
The New York Public Library believes that this item is in the public domain under the laws of the United States, but did not make a determination as to its copyright status under the copyright laws of other countries. This item may not be in the public domain under the laws of other countries. Though not required, if you want to credit us as the source, please use the following statement, "From The New York Public Library," and provide a link back to the item on our Digital Collections site. Doing so helps us track how our collection is used and helps justify freely releasing even more content in the future.

Item timeline of events

  • 1770: Creator Born
  • 1827: Creator Died
  • 1827: Created
  • 2023: Digitized
  • 2024: Found by you!
  • 2025

MLA Format

Music Division, The New York Public Library. "Lock of hair of Ludwig van Beethoven" The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1827. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/24ac7140-e5e0-0136-aab4-15175387d17f

Chicago/Turabian Format

Music Division, The New York Public Library. "Lock of hair of Ludwig van Beethoven" New York Public Library Digital Collections. Accessed April 26, 2024. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/24ac7140-e5e0-0136-aab4-15175387d17f

APA Format

Music Division, The New York Public Library. (1827). Lock of hair of Ludwig van Beethoven Retrieved from https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/24ac7140-e5e0-0136-aab4-15175387d17f

Wikipedia Citation

<ref name=NYPL>{{cite web | url=https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/24ac7140-e5e0-0136-aab4-15175387d17f | title= (three dimensional object) Lock of hair of Ludwig van Beethoven, (1827)|author=Digital Collections, The New York Public Library |accessdate=April 26, 2024 |publisher=The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox, and Tilden Foundations}}</ref>

Lock of hair of Ludwig van Beethoven