Mr. C is the imagined brand of one of London’s historic fanmakers, an industry significant enough to have its own City Livery Company: the Worshipful Company of Fanmakers. For the magazine, we curated a selection of fans that included a souvenir design, The Battle of Trafalgar, and two elegant feather fans.

While much has been written about the “language of fans,” we chose to sidestep potential misunderstandings with two clear and intentional designs: The Surrendering Heart and The Lost Heart.

The Surrendering Heart
A white-feathered fan, delicate yet weighted with meaning. In Regency society, the fan was a tool of flirtation, concealment, and performance. This piece speaks to something quieter. The white feathers recall the colour of surrender, the yielding of pride to feeling, of reserve to desire. Yet for those who know their symbolism, the white feather also hints at a deeper social reckoning. Is it submission, or silent defiance? The answer lies in the hand that holds it.

​

The Lost Heart
A fan for the woman in mourning. She grieves for love departed, or for a life no longer lived. Fashioned from soft black shadowed feathers, The Lost Heart speaks in silence. In an age when emotions were veiled and grief was worn, this fan became both shield and shrine. Perhaps she loved and was left. Perhaps she loved and was bereaved. Either way, the heart is gone. Not forgotten, but folded into memory, like a letter never sent. Each movement of the fan is a gesture of remembrance, a breath of sorrow, a tribute carried not on the sleeve, but in the hand.

This blend of sentimentality and function captures the power of the Regency fan as both a statement piece and a tool of communication.