Victorian Dried Seaweed Pressing, Isle of Wight, #3 mechanical bird and the hen a full

and the hen a full inch deep with cutout wing mounted on top of cutout

since removed

they retain their histories but live on with no tasks to perform

such that it can be rotated a full 180 degrees

with a charming horse at the center of each side

Victorian Dried Seaweed Pressing, Isle of Wight, #3 mechanical bird and the hen a fullThis is one of a handful of small seaweed pressings I purchased together, which I think are just exquisitely beautiful! A few of them, like this one, are signed and dated at bottom, others initialed on , so they represent the work of a few different people, most likely young women, among whom seaweed collecting and pressing was quite the thing during the Victorian era. I love the fact that making these represented not just a burgeoning interest in the