The idea of collecting objects as a reminder of a special place or person was an extremely fashionable hobby in Victorian Britain. Their attitude to death and dead bodies meant that keeping human remains, a lock of hair, ashes or even skin, as an everyday keepsake was a common activity. 'Egyptomania' in the 1800s inspired many to bring home small souvenirs, especially mummified remains, of their Egyptian tour.

This tradition of keeping human remains can be seen as an extension of collecting of religious relics in the Medieval Catholic church where the bones, blood, sweat or tears of saints were kept to honour their memory. Today around the world many parents do something similar by keeping their children's baby teeth or a lock from their first haircut.