Comb

This artifact is a comb made from gutta percha, though at first glance it looks like it is made from wood, rubber, or plastic. Gutta percha is a liquid substance that comes from Malaysian trees. The liquid is extracted by crushing the tree’s leaves under granite boulders (Wong 2016). This material is significant for a number of reasons. Firstly, it gives us insight into what was traded and imported in America during the nineteenth century. Secondly, it is rare and durable, likely increasing the value of the comb. 

Combs during the nineteenth century were commonly made from bone, wood, and ivory (Smith 2017). Combs made out of these materials, if dropped, could easily break. Gutta percha was the ideal material for combs because it is a solid, durable substance that was not prohibitively expensive for most people. Aside from bone, wood, and ivory, combs were also made from horns and tortoiseshells. These combs were typically used for decorative purposes. Tortoiseshell was the most desirable material for decorative combs because of its color and plasticity (White 2005). 

Gutta percha combs were more expensive than standard combs made of wood or bone, because of the origin of the material in Malaysia. The cost of importing the material from the other side of the world contributed to the cost of the comb. Materials like wood and bone, in contrast, were easily accessible to the majority of the American population during that time. Nevertheless, there was  trade between the U.S., Europe, and the Far East, that regularly brought goods from China and Malaysia. Therefore, it was not especially rare to have a comb made of gutta percha, but more rare than a comb of wood or bone. 

This comb was most likely owned by one of the working- or middle-class families that resided in Seneca Village. The purpose of this comb was not solely to comb hair. Just as clothing is used to show wealth and status, so are combs. Women in the working and middle showed their status not only through their clothing, but also their hair styles. They would not have bought many decorative combs to keep up with fashionable trends like upper-class women did, but they likely still followed the trends of Victorian hairstyling. 

The way that enslaved African Americans styled their hair was important to their individual identities. Styling and grooming hair was a part of their culture and it became a communal activity. Hair is a medium through which social messages and culture can be conveyed. In the 1960s, hairstyles such as afros and dreadlocks were symbols of pride and political empowerment for Black people (White 2009). 

During the Victorian era, a woman’s hair was thought to be her most valuable asset. Because of this, women took serious care of their hair, and accessories such as combs, pearls, hats, and bonnets cycled throughout the 1800s. Hair was worn long during the Victorian age, as it was considered to be feminine and desirable. Long hair was commonly styled in an updo, as shown in Figure 3, especially by upper-class women. During the 1830s, women wore a neat bun, braids, or twists. In the 1840s, women began to wear “barley curls”, which were long ringlets. From the beginning of the 1850s, African American women also followed the trend of Victorian age hairstyles. To obtain these styles, they would use a hot comb, introduced in the late nineteenth century, to straighten their hair.