Woman's Gown
PeriodCirca 1865 - 1869
Place MadePossibly Mendham, New Jersey, U.S.A.
MediumWatered silk, cotton, cotton lace, silk ribbon
Dimensions41.5 in. (105.4 cm)
ClassificationsCostume, Women's
Credit LineGift of Mrs. Frank J. Valentine. 1939
Object number1261
DescriptionA woman's two-piece day gown comprised of bodice and skirt, both of heavy maroon watered corded silk. The bodice is constructed with a round neck, front hook and eye closure, front and back princess points, dropped shoulder seams, and wide curved pagoda sleeves. The dropped shoulder seam and bell sleeve edges are both trimmed with wide box pleated black silk ribbon applied atop black lace ruffles. The entire bodice is lined in medium brown glazed cotton. Seven boning channels with original whalebone strips are sewn into the bodice for shaping. The matching skirt is constructed with an offset front closure with placket panel, box pleats along the hips, and cartridge pleating on the back six inches, all set onto a waistband and large brass hook and eye closure. The skirt is entirely lined, with upper 3/4s of the lining out of light brown glazed cotton, and the lower 1/4th of the lining in pieced light pinkish brown glazed cotton. A heavy woven black wear binding is applied to the skirt edge.Curatorial RemarksThe tradition of the white wedding dress is relatively recent. Queen Victoria married her consort Prince Albert in 1840, and wore a splendid white silk and lace wedding gown. Although this did popularize white as a standard color for wedding dresses, many brides continued to opt for various colored gowns to wear at their marriages. The Association has a number of wedding dresses from the early 19th to the late 19th century, in shades of maroon, gray, blue, and even black. The relative expense of a wedding dress was often offset by the fact that the bride could wear her gown for many occasions after the wedding itself. Although Anna Stiger's gown is relatively simple, with only black ribbon and lace trimming on the sleeves, the fabric itself was expensive and of very high quality, while the construction and fit point to a talented dressmaker most likely in or around the Mendham, Morris County, New Jersey area.NotesThis elegant two-piece silk gown was owned and worn by Anna Elizabeth Walduck Stiger. Anna was born on September 22, 1842, in New York City. Her father, Robert Mark Walduck, and mother, Anna, were both born in England and later emigrated to New York. Anna Walduck married Silas C. Stiler (1822-1905) on April 7, 1869 at the Presbyterian Church in Mendham, Morris County, New Jersey. The maroon watered silk gown may have been Anna Walduck's wedding dress. The couple raised four children: Louise (1871-1938), Anna (1872-1876), Frederick (1877-1880), and Guy (1882-1897). The Stiger family lived in Mendham, Morris County, NJ. In September of 1896, the Stigers purchased "the splendid house of the Ann Wyckoff estate" on Grand Avenue in Asbury Park. The purchase may have been motivated by Anna Stiger's health. In her obituary, it was noted that she had been an invalid for many years. Doctors of the time period often recommended visits to the shore as the brisk salty air was thought to provide a health cure. Anna Stiger did not enjoy her new residence for long, however. She died at the age of 54 on November 8, 1896.
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