GERSON & Co. Court Dress, Princely House of Wied, Berlin, ca. 1888
An absolute highlight from our personal collection that we are offering for sale.
We would like to begin the description of this dress today with a brief genealogical outline: William Frederick Charles of Orange-Nassau (1797-1881), Prince of the Netherlands, married Luise Auguste of Hohenzollern (1808-1870), Princess of Prussia. Their daughter Wilhelmine Frederica Alexandrine Anna Louise Marie of Orange-Nassau (1841-1910) marries the 5th Prince of Wied: Wilhelm Adolph Maximilian Carl zu Wied. Their children include Wilhelmine Friederike Auguste Alexandrine Marie Elisabeth Luise zu Wied (1880-1965).
Two years after her death, the dress is auctioned off at Christie's together with other dresses and accessories from her estate. They were purchased by Doris Langley Moore on 11 July 1967. Doris Langley Moore (1902-1989) was one of the most important private collectors of old dresses. She founded the Fashion Museum in Bath, England, in 1963. Her collection, from which this dress also comes, was later acquired by Helen Larson. Helen Larson lived in California. She was a passionate collector and a brilliant expert in her field who earned her living renting out costumes for film and theatre. Numerous high-calibre exhibitions of antique clothing and accessories worldwide can be traced back to her collection. Parts of Helen Larson's collection were auctioned off in April 2018. This is how we came across this beautiful formal dress, which has a special history.
The dress is made of ivory-coloured silk and matching velvet. Dated around 1888, long train. Two tops. A high-necked day top and an evening top. The day top has a long train, ¾ sleeves and bows on the sleeves. Lacing at the front. The evening top also has a long train with lacing at the front. Original laces present.
Label: "Mode Bazar, Gerson & Co. Berlin * Royal and Imperial Purveyors to the Court". The Gerson department stores' is considered to be Berlin's first department stores'. The clothing store was located on Friedrichswerder at Werderscher Markt 5 from 1848/1849 and offered prefabricated (ready-made) clothing in a magnificent building. The department stores' was destroyed in the Second World War. The founder and owner of the Gerson department stores' was the Jewish merchant Herrmann Gerson (1813-1861). He opened his first own shop in 1839 under the name Herrmann Gerson in the building of the Royal Building Academy on Werderscher Markt. From 1842, Gerson also supplied the Prussian court. Together with the Mannheimer brothers, Rudolph Hertzog and David Leib Levin, Herrmann Gerson is regarded as one of the founders of the Berlin clothing industry, which later became one of the most important pillars of Berlin's economy. With an annual turnover of 30 million marks in 1894, the company founded by Herrmann Gerson was the largest in its sector in Berlin and was still regarded as a leader in the 1920s.
The dress is in very good condition. Minor stains, subtle signs of wear on the hem, drawstring eyelets on the top suggest that a bow may have been attached here (unfortunately no longer present). The jewellery is not included.
As we date the dress to 1888, it could have been worn by Wilhelmine Frederica Alexandrine Anna Louise Marie of Orange-Nassau (1841-1910), the wife of the 5th Prince of Wied, who was, among other things, President of the Prussian House of Lords. The Prussian House of Lords was the first chamber of the Prussian Parliament, the legislative body of Prussia. It was modelled on the House of Lords. Perhaps this dress was worn on a special occasion in Berlin. Perhaps for the celebrations surrounding the coronation of Kaiser Wilhelm II. Only dresses worn on special occasions have generally been preserved. And this is one such occasion.
