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Terrarium
Fair Charlotte:
"Wardian Cases" were developed by accident by English botanist Nathaniel Bagshaw Ward in 1842. Wishing to observe insect behavior, he accidentally left a jar open, in which a fern spore grew.
The self-sustaining environments enabled plants to be shipped across the world. The Victorian fascination with the natural world created a fad for what would be later known as terrariums.
In 1843 editor and humorist Seba Smith published A Corpse Going to a Ball, a satirical poem concerning a vain young woman named Charlotte who, not wishing to wrinkle her gown by wearing a blanket on a sleigh ride, freezes to death on her way to a New Year's Ball.
The poem became a hit, particularly among the the French-Canadian logging camps of upper Maine (one suspects there wasn't much to do in 19th century French-Canadian logging camps in upper Maine) and just as today, popularity begat merchandise. Frozen Charlottes, small bisque dolls that could be purchased for a penny, were manufactured well into the 1920s. The pieces in this collection were made using casts of these once-ubiquitous children's toys.
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