To our eyes, this small brooch bought at a QBO Beehive sale doesn’t remotely resemble what it represents – Halley’s Comet! The comet’s orbit brings it past the earth every 72 to 80 years and this pin is a souvenir of its passing at the end of the Georgian era in 1837. There were many versions of these brooches made; this one was for common folk; it is cast pot-metal set with foiled “paste” stones (glass with a reflective backing). There were also luxury comet brooches made of platinum, rhodium, sterling and rose or yellow gold, enameled or set with seed pearls, diamonds, emeralds, operculum shell, garnets and other gemstones. The vast majority do not show the comet as we would today (a starburst with a trailing tail) but rather as a geometric, framed ovoid with a long projection extending off one side. Other souvenirs included comet postcards, comet spoons, comet cordial glasses, and sheet music commemorating the comet.
Of course people could see what the comet really looked like but the brooches’ odd stylization makes more sense when you see the first known depiction of Halley’s Comet on the Bayeux Tapestry, circa 1066. Back then comets were harbingers of doom and the tapestry depicts the defeat of English King Harold II by Norman invaders. Earlier arrivals of the comet coincided with an outbreak of the Black Death and a cold period from 536 to 540 that caused crop failures and starvation, so comets “predicted’ natural disasters and political upheaval – nothing to celebrate.
What caused the change in attitude? Generally, the Age of Reason flowering across Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries, and specifically, the work of British astronomer Edmond Halley. In 1705 he theorized that the comets appearing every 75 years or so were in fact just one single comet orbiting past us over and over, allowing him to predict its return. He was in his mid-20s when the comet passed by in 1682 and did not live to see himself proved correct by the comet’s reappearance in 1758 but it was posthumously named in his honor. Other scholars built on his work sifting back through records to find reliable accounts of the comet appearing like clockwork: 1758, 1682, 1607, 1531, 1456, 1378, 1145, 1066, as far back as 240 BCE. Ancient Mesopotamians also wrote of “a star which appears once in 70 years that makes the captains of the ships err.” By 1837 people were up for spectacular science rather than end-of-days omens and a giddy “comet fever” swept the world. Yay! In 1909 writer Mark Twain, who was born in 1835, said “I came in with Halley’s Comet. It is coming again next year. The Almighty has said, no doubt, ‘Now there are these two unaccountable freaks; they came in together, they must go out together.’” He died in 1910 after it arrived on schedule at the end of the Victorian era.
These comet “jelly” or ice cream molds are from that 1910 orbit. The dark tin mold is from Austria, while the aluminum one was made by B.I.A. Cordon Bleu, Italy. Here it is in a 1900s Jell-O leaflet! The mold was produced by many companies over the years, slowly devolving to look like a shell, but in early versions the nucleus is clearly distinct from the tail. Comet’s tails do not indicate their trajectory; the plume is particulates blown off its surface by solar winds pushing out from the sun, so the tail always streams away from the center of the solar system. Science!
Today we believe Halley’s Comet entered our solar system as long ago as 200,000 BCE, around the time that modern humans first evolved, so it has been traveling with us for a very long time. Halley’s next ‘perihelion’ is expected in 2061 but artists are ALREADY busy making aspirational souvenirs – right now you can buy “Halley’s Comet – July, 2061” T-shirts online! See you then.
Tuesday Treasures was started by our staff member, Jeanne Lusignan. Each week she will be featuring items that have been found at our estate sales. If you would like to submit a treasure for Jeanne to feature in a future installment of “Tuesday’s Treasures”, please follow the button below and send us an email! Please attach a few photos of your treasure in a beautiful setting as well as any details you have about your item such as manufacturer, use, age, region of origin. If you don’t know about the piece, that’s okay! We still might be able to research it for you! Don’t forget to tell us what makes this item such a treasure to you!