Superb aqua blue late 1860's dress - titled provenance

I have a refund policy. Please read the details at the foot of this page.

English speakers only please.

My Buy it Now prices do not include greedy profits. The price reflects the amount I paid at auction. Simple as that.

This is the second glorious blue silk dress I have recently acquired and it is equally fine. The provenance needs a little explanation so I will do this first.

PROVENANCE

The excellent auction house on the borders of Scotalnd told me that they could not divulge the vendor but that the provenance was 'excellent' and that it came from a grand country home. The sale was for three dresses and I bought them all, so do watch out for the others.

This dress was boxed for storage. The box may not be original to the gown, but a name is handwritten on the top. The name is Miss Ramage Dawson.

Being so unusual, I started to investigate. There is only one lady Ramage Dawson on the internet and I am therefore quite sure it is her. Miss Ramage Dawson married in 1853. The gentleman she married is very famous in the World of science - Dr Charles Wyville [1830-1882] An explorer with a key interest in sea creatures, he has hundreds of references through Google, having sailed in The Challenger and shown that creatures lived in the deepest parts of the sea.

In 1876 he was Knighted by the Queen Victoria. At this point he became Sir Charles Wyville Thomson.

Just as an aside, Miss Jane Ramage Dawson may have come originally from a family of whiskey distillers dating back to the early 18thC. I am less sure of this as I can find no family tree but I only investigated for a couple of hours.

All links to both families originate from Scotland and Ireland [Sir Charles & wife]

Sorry to go on but I found this so exciting!

Obviously, the only paperwork to substantiate this is the name on the dress box.

THE DRESS

This is a one piece dress that I am quite sure dates to the late 1860's, when 'Miss Ramage Dawson' was probably in her 30's and married.

It has a seperate sash/belt that covers the front waist fastens and has a large bow at the back, and a smaller one for the front.

There is a lovely little coin pocket in the waist and a gap for a petticoat with pocket [not present]

The dress is very finely decorated with lace and satin ribbons.

*The low neckline has lace with a very narrow silk blue ribbon that can be drawn and fastened to fit.

*The sleeves have beautiful cream silk linings, that end in ruffles. The slimmish pagoda shape ends with fine blue silk bows and lace under, all matching the other embellishments.

* All original blue silk covered front buttons are present

* The skirt, oh the skirt! Vast, with a huge train, it has broad bands of matching lace criss-crossing down the front. Flanking this, on either side, are panels of satin ribbon that has been shaped into triangles. At the base of each panel is a rosette of silk and lace.

*The triagular shaped ribbon panels continue all round the back of the train, and I hope you can see this clearly.

*The skirt is tightly cartridge pleated at the back, the bigginnings of the bustle that would be developed in the 1870's. I have shown the dress with a late 1860's crinoline frame, the perfect shape, but there is masses of space for more petticoats!

The dress is in superb condition. Problems are very minor - a slight nick [cut] under one arm, the underarms being very fresh and clean. Some minor discolouration to the train which looks far worse under the flashlight. One very small spot of rust at the back of the skirt. Some slight lengths of the lace have parted company with the dress at the neck and cuffs. Very simple to put right.

There are a couple of things I should mention that I am not 100% sure about.

The bodice back shaping has machine overstitching. I have looked at Bradfield, and machining is quite normal at this time, but she does not say if it would be used for overstitching. It is very well done.

Someone has added some press studs inside to close the waist and skirt opening more thoroughly. All origianl fastenings are present, and the press studs can easily be removed. Again, no mess and very neatly done.

The colour of the blue silk is almost aqua or duck egg blue - very beautiful. All photo's were taken at night so with a flash. If you would like a daytime photo of the colour, please do contact me.

Porsi is a standard size 10 [35"/24"/36"] and the dress is a little loose on her. If you wish to wear it, add another 1" or so to these measurements.

Please do take a look at my other items if you have the time!

Payment within 7 days please. Sorry, no cheques. Paypal only from overseas. Paypal or uncrossed postal order from the UK. No collections for small items.