Victorian Era - Artifacts B.C.

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Introduction

Frequently
Asked
Questions

Victorian
Artifact
Investigation

Identifying an artifact from the Victorian Era, or Victoriana

Commemorative Cup

Commemorative Cup
Point Ellice House Collection

What is the Victorian Era?

Victorian, n. Of or relating to the reign of Queen Victoria of England or the art, letters, or taste of her time.
Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary, 1976

Queen Victoria ruled from 1837 to 1901, the longest reigning monarch in British history. Victoria was the daughter of Edward the Duke of Kent and Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg.

Chess Set
Point Ellice House Collection

How to identify an artifact

There are a few simple steps that one must undertake to identify the origin of an artifact. There are several different categories into which an artifact can be classified, and these can help a researcher discover its origin and provenance.

Here we will begin to investigate how to identify an artifact, identify a signature, find out where the item was made, and how to date the artifact.

We begin our process by deciding what we want to discover about a piece of human history. Are you seeking information about a person who owned it or made it? Are you learning about a place or a monument, or do you want to know more about a historic building that is home to an entire collection of artifacts? question mark

Any tangible item you may find is an artifact. That means that the button on your shirt, doghouse in your backyard, tea cup, water bottle, dinnerware set, shoe, book, pencil, daisy-chain, mudball, paperclip, keyboard, or toothbrush can be called an artifact.

It is often up to a single individual to decide which artifact is the most important piece to preserve for future generations. Many people have something called a keepsake, or a good luck charm that stays with them for a lifetime. Other people own an item or artifact that they have used only once.

Binoculars

Eventually, as people tear down old buildings and replace them with new ones, or discard items, things become rare. An artifact will preserve the heritage of its original owner, and preserve that information for future generations. Today, we can turn to these artifacts to give us insight into our past, or into the people and places that have existed long before us.