Object Record
Images
Metadata
Object Name |
Dress, Wedding |
Catalog Number |
1975.011.06 |
Description |
Elaborate 2-piece ivory-colored wedding dress. Long-sleeved bodice is silk taffeta, with handmade lace collar and cuffs. inset of cut velvet in front gives the appearance of an 18th c. stomacher. Closes in front with hook/eyes and covered buttons. Both front and back of bodice come to long points in middle. Skirt is same silk taffeta, with a wide inset front panel of the cut velvet, designed to mimic an 18th c. petticoat. The hem of the cut velvet panel ends in 4 long points held down by small weights. The sides of the skirt have 2 tiers of pleats and ruching, to reminiscent of 18th. c panniers. Very stiff built-in petticoat of buckram, and more buckram just across the seat to create a bustle. Very long train, with 3 double rows of handmade lace and crisp pleats of stiff netting along inside of bottom in the train. Original elastic for tying up the train is still present, but rotten. Many layers, quite "frothy," and lined with glazed ivory cotton. Skirt waistband has 2 wide strips of brushed flannel twill sewn to back, with small safety pins still attached to other end: obviously "suspenders" to hold up the weight of this very heavy skirt. |
Provenance |
LCHS records state this was worn by Mary Pettibone Barber at her wedding in 1884. |
Used By |
Mary Pettibone Barber |
Date |
1884 |
People |
Barber, Mary Pettibone |
Subjects |
Clothing & Accessories "Things that Matter" |
Search Terms |
Wedding "Things that Matter" |
Relation |
Show Related Records... |
Notes |
Featured in Things that Matter: When I was shopping for a wedding dress, I remember the consultant saying that the dress I chose would be the most important dress of my life. At that moment, I ignored her words. However, sometimes a wedding dress is the only object that remains to remember a person. This is the case of Mary Pettibone Barber. This wedding dress, worn by Mary Pettibone in 1884, is probably the only belonging of hers that still exists. We don’t know a lot about Mary Pettibone. She was born in La Crosse in 1861 to Albert and Cordelia Pettibone. A year after Mary’s birth, Albert was elected mayor of La Crosse for three successive one-year terms. Her father was a prominent lumberman and in 1900 donated the land for Pettibone Park. In 1866, after her father’s terms as mayor, the family moved to Missouri. Mary went to school in Massachusetts and stayed with relatives there. In 1884, she married Capt. J.T. Barber, the manager of the Northwestern Lumbering Company in Hannibal, Missouri. Mary’s elaborate ivory wedding dress was made in St. Louis in a department store dressmaker’s shop. The St. Louis Post described the wedding as "brilliant." Another newspaper, the Shelbina Democrat, described it as "a very fashionable affair," a marriage that united two prominent lumbering families. After the marriage, the rest of the Pettibone family returned to La Crosse and moved into what is today known as the Cargill-Pettibone House at 145 8th St. S. Unfortunately, Mary suffered from poor health, and she died in 1886 in Missouri, only two years after her marriage to Capt. Barber. Mary’s body was brought home to La Crosse, and she is buried with her family in Oak Grove Cemetery. In 1975, the Pettibone family donated various women’s accessories used by Mary, her sister Anna, and her mother Cordelia, including fans, hats, shoes, and handkerchiefs. In addition to the accessories, Mary’s wedding ensemble was donated as well. This article was originally published in the La Crosse Tribune. Title: Mary Pettibone's Wedding Dress Author: Amy Vach Publish Date: June 8, 2019 |