two locks of hair purportedly belonging to Emily Dickinson framed together, one of auburn color, the other a brownish-blonde.

It appears that the only known locks of hair belonging to Emily Dickinson are those that were gifted to Amherst College in 1983 by descendents of Dickinson's friend Emily Fowler (later Emily Ford). Those locks were sent in a letter to Fowler that read, "I said when the Barber came, I would save you a little ringlet, and fulfilling my promise, I send you one today. I shall never give you anything again that will be half so full of sunshine as this wee lock of hair, but I wish no hue more sombre might ever fall to you." (The Letters of Emily Dickinson. Thomas Johnson, ed. Letter #99). The auburn lock in the present lot appears to be consistent in color with those at Amherst, though we have been unable to track the provenance any further than the American poet James Merrill, who owned them before gifting them to his friend J.D. McClatchy.
h. 5 w. 3-3/4 in. (frame)