Dress
PeriodCirca 1950 - 1952
Place MadeKeyport, New Jersey, U.S.A.
MediumSynthetic velvet, cotton, acetate ribbon
Dimensions43 in. (109.2 cm)
ClassificationsCostume, Women's
Credit LineGift of Betty Jane Erickson Hurlbert, 2010
Object number2022.517
DescriptionA woman's synthetic blue velvet cocktail dress, with a wide boat neck, three-quarter sleeves, back zipper closure, and gored skirt. The dress has an attached medium blue synthetic silk ribbon waist sash with a large flat bow and 14" streamer ribbons sewn to the center front. The bodice and skirt are lined with an off-white cotton lining. The gown's hem is unfinished.Curatorial RemarksIn 1946, William E. Cusick (1901 - after 1958) founded the W. E. Cusick Company. Cusick was the former Vice President of Vanity Fair, a respected and popular American lingerie company. Cusick's business partners were Andrew Dean, former Director of Manufacturing for the Real Silk Hosiery Company, and Edith Gillis, also from Vanity Fair. The business opened in the Aeromarine Building in Keyport, Monmouth County, New Jersey. Cusick, who lived in Caldwell, Essex County, New Jersey, selected Keyport as he felt the area would provide plenty of individuals eager to work in the lingerie factory. W. E. Cusick company produced high quality women's lingerie including petticoats, slips, briefs, and panties for junior and misses sizes. Will Cusick's target market were the larger department stores including Marshall Field in Chicago, Bamberger & Company in Newark, Jelleff's in Washington, and many others. In 1952, Cusick purchased the former Sapphire Company in Landsdale, Pennsylvania to expand the company's production. In a 1954 newspaper article, Cusick stated that "when the Garden State Parkway is finished this summer, we have no doubt that the Bayshore area will see record-breaking employment and prosperity for many years to come." That same year, Cusick was awarded a patent for a particular fluting (ruffling) method, marketed under the name "Beautiflute." The company advertised regular factory sales to local residents, featuring "the same glamorous styles that are sold by America's finest stores bearing their own name labels." The firm also sponsored regular tours of the factory for local high school girls as a way of advertising employment. In 1951, an article in the Asbury Park Press noted that "twenty-five Keyport high school students have been employed up to date." In 1954, Vanity Fair Mills, where Will Cusick had worked as Vice President, instituted a lawsuit against Cusick himself, his company, and BeautiFlute. In a portion of the suit information, one of the issues was that Cusick was apparently using the special fluting method for several years prior to applying for the patent. The courts ruled that by doing so, and selling the products to numerous retailers, the process was "public within the meanng of the statute." This may have contributed to the company's closure, which appears to have occurred sometime in the late 1950s. The last mention of the Will E. Cusick Company in Keyport appeared in the Keyport Weekly on November 20, 1958.NotesDonor Betty Jane Erickson Hurlbert, was born in Keyport on 15 September 1929. Her father, Edward Erickson, was a Keyport fisherman. Betty Jane graduated from Keyport High School and attended Packard School of Business in New York City. She worked as a secretary for 33 years, then as Special Librarian for ASARCO Inc. in South Plainfield, New Jersey. She later received her masters degree in Library Science from Rutgers School of Communication. She was Reference Librarian for 14 years at the Eastern Branch of the Monmouth County Library. Betty Jane worked from April to December 1952 for the W. E. Cusick Company. She married her husband John A. (Jack) Hurlbert in 1973. Betty Jane Hurlbert died on 15 August 2020. Employees of the W. E. Cusick Company were allowed to purchased samples and seasonal remnants on a regular basis. The blue velvet dress appears to have been sewn to serve as a sample garment to display over Cusick lingerie in the factory offices. Please see petticoats 2022.518 and 2022.519 and slips 2022.520 and 2022.521 for examples of the lovely and elegant products turned out by W. E. Cusick Company.
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