Antique Edwardian Victorian Silk Wedding Dress Gown PROVENANCE Civil War Era

A lovely and interesting piece of history!

PLEASE READ description and SEE PHOTOS with provenance and history of weighted silk, as this is an historical piece for display, patterning or parts purposes due to history and condition.

This is from an estate lot and a bit is known about the provenance of this antique clothing. It seems most of the items (which included corset covers, petticoats, and 13 baby gowns (!)), belonged to a somewhat prominent family from the Knoxville, Tennessee area, which included sisters named Isabel, Cynthia and Cecilia. As they seem to have kept and passed down heirloom lace and clothing in the family, this item may date as far back as the Georgian or Civil War era, at least some of the lace applied, including the lace on the yoke of this dress.

See last photos for a reference to them, but PLEASE NOTE that letter, card and the antique tatted medallions on it are not included in this listing.

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A bit about Edwardian and Victorian lace items. Typically the lace was imported, often from England, Ireland or France. Lace applied to baby and wedding clothes as well as ladies petticoats and other trousseau items was often handed down and reworked into the clothing.

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Photos are part of the provenance, so please look and read carefully. The final photos will tell you about the history of weighted silk so you can get an idea of the age of this gown. Some of the handwritten notes from the family and particularly the one about the history of the lace that was originally on the orange blossom wax flower wedding veil headpiece, tell a little bit about the age and life of this gorgeous piece of history.

PLEASE NOTE: this is an historical piece and as described in the history of weighted silk, the silk on the majority of this gown is shattered. It will not hold up and it is not preservable. At least not for a long time. So several options with this beautiful but unfortunately shattering piece of History:

It can be taken apart and some parts are salvageable. There is an inner hook and eye built-in corset that is not silk and can be preserved. The dress shields may have been added later, but I know the company was founded in 1912, and that was the year that Isabel Allen got married to Solon Krupp, so this is likely her Edwardian wedding gown, but the lace on the collar as described in some of the provenance, was likely passed down from her grandmother and great-grandmother so it does date back to the Civil War era or possibly even Colonial/Georgian. That is also in perfect shape and can be removed and preserved.

It is a shame that the outer silk of the dress is shattered and shattering, because you can tell that it was once the height of luxury. Unfortunately the metals and salts from waiting the silk did their dastardly deed! :-(

It is very likely given the time period that silk weighting was occurring that the actual fabric of the main part of the dress was reworked from earlier generations including Isabel's grandmother pictured in one of the last photos in her wedding gown. The gorgeous Victorian embroidery and whitework along the sleeves and the collar and the train of the gown seem to be Isabel's handiwork, as petticoats, corset covers, baby gowns and other pieces from her wedding trousseau that I have seem to have her signature patterns of whitework embroidery.

So again, PLEASE NOTE, the entirety of the gown itself will not stand up. It is shattering because of having weighted silk. If you touch it it almost disintegrates in the hand. What is preservable however, is possibly a decent portion of the bodice of the dress if carefully preserved, the lightweight silk chiffon sleeves that are not weighted silk, the dress shields on the inside as well as the inner structure of the built-in corset.

Please note that the cards and provenance and also the original wedding veil, which was sold already, are NOT included in the listing - they are just there to give you a sense of the history.

Please message me with any questions before purchasing.

Please note that all other items in photos are for photographic and prop purposes only and are not included in the listing.

Thank you for looking! :-)