Oh yes--those 19th century folks regularly had human hair worked
into elaborate decorations.  Pins or other ornaments made of locks
from the dear departed--I've seen quite large "pictures" made all
from human hair (the one that comes to mind right now is a "flower
arrangement," all the flowers from hair, quite a lot of them gray).
 
Hairpieces were probably quite common among 19th century ladies.
Women did not cut their hair.  You probably know that Louisa May
Alcott went off to nurse Civil War soldiers and got terribly sick--
her hair was cut, and she mentioned in passing in her journal that it
was two yards long (probably not unusual).  Afterward, she wore
hairpieces.  Other women apparently added hairpieces to their own
hairdos.
 
The hair receiver was a typical accessory, and I think the hair saved
was used mostly as padding or filler for a lady's hairdo, especially
if her hair was not as long and thick as she would like.  (Hair
ornaments were probably usually made from cut locks of hair--hair
saved in the hair receiver would really be too tangled to work with,
I would imagine.)
 
(Those of us who deal mainly with 2-dimensional stuff get our share
of hair, too, usually included with a letter or tucked into an
envlope with funeral materials.)
 
Nan Lawer
(working with manuscripts in Special Collections, Univ. of Arkansas
Libraries)
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Nan Lawler, Special Collections
University of Arkansas Libraries
Fayetteville, AR  72701-1201
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