| Beginning in the early years of the 20th | | | | left features a variety of lucky charms in a |
| century and extending until around 1960, it | | | | bright mix of brass, copper, sterling silver, |
| was a mark of middle-class properity that | | | | and gold-plated metal. |
| young girls be given a charm bracelet before | | | | |
| they reached puberty and that at every | | | | This bracelet is typical of the kind of |
| holiday or anniversay, a new charm be added | | | | jewelry worn by adolescent girls in the 1950s |
| to the assemblage, often by the doting | | | | and 1960s, collected charm by charm while |
| relative who had supplied the original | | | | travelling through the tourist traps, flea |
| bracelet. One suspects that jewelers were | | | | markets, jewelry stores, and yard sales of |
| behind the craze, but in fact, the demand for | | | | the heartland. It is, in fact, my very own |
| charms is ancient; only this method of | | | | charm bracelet! There are 13 charms on it, |
| marketing them is relatively recent. Not all | | | | demonstating the use of "unlucky" 13 as |
| the charms on these bracelets were lucky | | | | reversed bad luck. Clockwise from the top, |
| emblems -- equally common were hobby-related | | | | they are: |
| and school-related charms. In fact, the | | | | |
| multiplicity of charms available, and the | | | | a silver heart engraved with initials: love |
| mundanity of many of them -- a telephone, a | | | | for the named individual |
| car, a cheerleader's megaphone, a windmill -- | | | | |
| served to devalue the word "charm" in the | | | | a brass heart pierced by an arrow: smitten |
| English language, so that today one may be | | | | romantic love |
| misunderstood if one refers to "charms" when | | | | |
| one means "amulets." | | | | a silver horseshoe: attraction or "drawing" |
| | | | luck |
| The picture here is an undated French | | | | |
| postcard that was mailed in 1921. Printed in | | | | a gold wishbone set with a pearl: wishes come |
| sepia tone, with modest touches of colour, it | | | | true |
| is a photo of 10 good luck charms of the type | | | | |
| then popular in Europe and America. | | | | a silver horseshoe on which is placed a |
| | | | wishbone, a four-leaf clover, a horseshoe and |
| The legend reads "Le Langage de Porte | | | | the words "Good Luck": good luck |
| Bonheur" ("The Language of Good Luck Charms") | | | | |
| and the 10 charms are labelled with their | | | | a gold and green enamelled four-leaf clover: |
| meanings -- which, i feel compelled to note, | | | | luck |
| do not accord in every case with their usual | | | | |
| symbolism. | | | | a silver money bag with a $ sign: wealth |
| | | | |
| The charms are: | | | | a copper horseshoe on which is placed a |
| | | | four-leaf clover: good luck |
| an elephant: "Felicite" (happiness) | | | | |
| | | | a brass heart padlock: faithful love |
| a heart: "Amour" (love) | | | | |
| | | | a silver spread of playing cards: gambling |
| a four-leaf clover: "Bonheur" (luck) | | | | luck |
| | | | |
| a horsehoe magnet: "Argent" (silver -- or | | | | a gold double horseshoe set with an |
| money, due to the magnet's "drawing" power) | | | | artificial diamond: money luck |
| | | | |
| a die, showing seven spots: "Veine" (games of | | | | a brass money bag marked 1000: wealth |
| chance; gambler's luck) | | | | |
| | | | a silver horseshoe: attraction or "drawing" |
| the number 13: "Joie" (joy; the usual use of | | | | luck |
| this number is as general luck or gambler's | | | | |
| luck) | | | | Other popular 20th century charms not |
| | | | depicted on this page but often found on |
| a pig: "Prosperite" (prosperity) | | | | European and American charm bracelets |
| | | | include: |
| a hamsa hand: "Richesse" (riches; this is not | | | | |
| accurate -- the hamsa hand protects against | | | | a swastika: luck (pre-Hitlerian, of course) |
| the evil eye; this one is unusual in that in | | | | |
| place of the bilaterally symmetrical filigree | | | | twin hearts pierced by a single arrow: |
| design of an Arab "hand of Fatima" or an eye | | | | reciprocated love |
| in the palm (which would make it an | | | | |
| eye-in-hand amulet), it has a little | | | | an Amanita muscaria mushroom: luck |
| arabesque curlique in the palm which is not | | | | |
| visible on this scan (and barely visible on | | | | a chimney sweep or his ladder and brush: luck |
| the original) | | | | |
| | | | a so-called "Lucky Buddha": luck |
| a horseshoe: "Fidelite" (fidelity; not | | | | |
| entrely accurate -- the usual meaning is | | | | a black cat: gambling luck |
| attraction or "drawing") | | | | |
| | | | Unrelated to European and American charm |
| a pansy: "Souvenir" (remembrance; i have not | | | | bracelets -- but probably made to meet |
| encountered the pansy as a lucky charm | | | | Occidental rather than Oriental tastes -- are |
| elsewhere; it belongs more properly to the | | | | the so-called Chinese charm bracelets made |
| "language of flowers" than the "language of | | | | with glass beads, jade carvings, and metal |
| good luck charms") | | | | amulets strung on black cord and tied around |
| | | | the wrist. |
| The 20th century American charm bracelet at | | | | |