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Millennium Bridge, London.
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Love-locks on a bridge in Bakewell, Derbyshire, UK.
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Love-locks on a bridge in Bakewell, Derbyshire, UK.
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Love-locks on a bridge in Bakewell, Derbyshire, UK.
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Love-locks and a large, rusted metal heart on a bridge in Bakewell, Derbyshire, UK.
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Love-locks in Erzsébet Square, Budapest.
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Love-locks in Graz, Austria.
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Love-locks in Graz, Austria.
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Love-locks in Graz, Austria.
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Love-locks and a divergent deposit in Graz, Austria.
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Love-locks on the Cinque Terre, Italy.
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Love-locks in St. Petersburg, Russia.
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One of many love-lock trees at Luzhkov Bridge, Moscow.
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Love-locks Luzhkov Bridge, Moscow.
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Love-locks on Luzhkov Bridge, Moscow.
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Love-locks on Sydney Harbour, Bridge, Australia.
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Unlocking the Love-Lock
The History and Heritage of a Contemporary Custom
Ceri Houlbrook
260 pages, 50 illus., bibliog., index, Enhanced Love-locks Catalog
ISBN 978-1-78920-922-8 $145.00/£107.00 Hb Published (January 2021)
ISBN 978-1-78920-985-3 $29.95/£23.95 Pb Published (January 2021)
eISBN 978-1-78920-923-5 eBook
Reviews
“This is a well-researched and thoughtful assessment of a fascinating topic.” • Sarah Randles, University of Melbourne
“…this is an eminently enjoyable and thorough investigation of a popular phenomenon through the lens of heritage and folk tradition.” • Sara De Nardi, Western Sydney University
Description
A padlock is a mundane object, designed to fulfil a specific – and secular – purpose. A contemporary custom has given padlocks new significance. This custom is ‘love-locking’, where padlocks are engraved with names and attached to bridges in declaration of romantic commitment. This custom became popular in the 2000s, and its dissemination was rapid, geographically unbound, and highly divisive, with love-locks emerging in locations as diverse as Paris and Taiwan; New York and Seoul; Melbourne and Moscow. This book explores the worldwide popularity of the love-lock as a ritual token of love and commitment by considering its history, symbolism, and heritage.
Ceri Houlbrook attained her doctorate in Archaeology from the University of Manchester, and is a lecturer in Folklore and History at the University of Hertfordshire. Her primary research interests are contemporary folklore and the material culture of popular customs and beliefs. She has published previously on the British phenomenon of coin-trees and the history and folklore of concealed objects.
Berghahn Digital Archaeology hosts Ceri Houlbrook’s complete catalog of over 700 Love-locks (LL) and divergent deposits (DD) from Oxford Road Bridge, Manchester. The comprehensive list spans 5 years, from February 2014 to April 2019, and is available in both interactive and downloadable forms.
Subject: Heritage Studies Archaeology Museum Studies Cultural Studies (General)
Contents
Download ToC (PDF)