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May 22, 2024 · The practice of creating bouquets using the floriography books as a guide was widely embraced by the upper classes by the Victorian era. Flowers were a gift that men could give to women they were ...
- Danielle Herring
- They Have Medieval Roots. A “tussie” is a nosegay, a Middle English word for a small group of flowers held together in a little bouquet and that was held at nose level; “mussie” refers to the moss that was moistened and put around the stems of the flowers to keep them from wilting.
- They Were Popularized by Queen Victoria. The term tussie-mussie (also tussy-mussy) dates back to the reign of trend-setter Queen Victoria (1837-1901), who was fond of carrying these little floral bouquets wherever she went.
- They Went Hand in Hand with Floriography. Tussie-mussies also became important vehicles for floriography (language of flowers), one of the Victorians’ favorite preoccupations that they elevated to an art form.
- They Were a Popular Gift for Courtship. It was common practice at the beginning of a relationship for the gentleman to give the lady a tussie-mussie, and she had to be careful about how she wore the flowers on her dress: If she pinned it to the “cleavage of bosom,” that would be bad news for him, since that signified friendship; tussie-mussies held pointing downward were also a sign of rejection.
Oct 13, 2016 · For 25 years, tussie-mussies have been the obsession of Irene Deitsch, whose book, Tussie-Mussies: A Collector’s Guide to Victorian Posy Holders, was recently published by Marene Press. “A ‘tussie’ is a nosegay, which is a Middle English word for a small group of flowers held together in a little bouquet,” Deitsch says, explaining the etymological origins of this curious-sounding ...
Apr 21, 2020 · During the Victorian era tussie-mussies were carried close to the nose to ward off the stench in the streets and the plague and were composed primarily of scented herbs such as rosemary, thyme, and rue. The small tapered metal vase that holds small bouquets is now sometimes called a tussie-mussie, as are the fragrant flowers in the vase.
Jun 15, 2021 · Tell the wish of thy heart in flowers.”. Victorians could send their heartfelt, coded messages in “Tussie Mussies”, small, fragrant nosegays of carefully chosen flowers and herbs, tied with lace, ribbon, or wrapped in doilies. As described in Tussie-Mussies: The Language of Flowers (Laufer, 2000), the name likely originated from the ...
Jun 30, 2023 · The fact that tussie-mussies peaked in popularity in the mid-1800s is proof enough for me that they were not purely intended to escape foul odors, as they were often handmade and the cosmetic industry was expanding rapidly during this time. Instead, they became more intricate. The images below shows the function of a 19th-century tussie-mussie.
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Oct 25, 2021 · Originally called talking bouquets and word posies, tussie-mussies are sweet smelling and symbolic flower arrangements that Victorians exchanged in lieu of written greetings. Today Geraldine Laufer, a floral poet, revives the art of tussie-mussies and shows how to make them in this full color celebration of craft, lore, and language.
