Description:

McKinley Ida


Ida S. McKinley Fabric Swatch

 

Fabric swatch from gown worn by and belonging to First Lady Ida Saxton McKinley (1847-1907), with superb provenance. The 9.5" x 1.5" swatch is a rich nut brown silk damask shot through with metallic copper colored thread to create a textured appearance.  Expected wear includes a few stray threads and isolated fading. The fabric sample is accompanied by a 2pp ALS dated July 26, 1912; it was once also a part of the collection of the Luray Museum of Luray, Virginia.

 

Ida Saxton married future 25th U.S. President William McKinley (1843-1901) in 1871. The beautiful banker's daughter was prematurely aged by a succession of personal tragedies and in very poor health when she entered the White House in 1897. Debilitated by chronic headaches, depression, and epileptic seizures, her invalidism restricted her official White House duties.

 

Yet Ida McKinley's ill health did not prevent her from dressing the part of the First Lady. As was then in vogue during the late Victorian period, the First Lady wore fashionably tailored 2-piece dresses whose tapering monobosom blouses boasted puffed sleeves and high collars. Her 19" diameter dresses were heavily embroidered or encrusted with crystal or jet beads, mirrors, or sterling silver sequins. Many of Mrs. McKinley's gowns were made in New York, as was her famous Dreicer & Son diamond, platinum, and gold winged tiara, yet as we know from our handwritten provenance, she also employed Washington, D.C. dressmakers. The Ida Saxton McKinley Collection of the McKinley Presidential Library and Museum (Canton, Ohio) has around 20 of the First Lady's dresses in its collection, including a blue velvet gown decorated with Battenberg lace (blue was Mrs. McKinley's favorite color.)

 

Mrs. McKinley would have worn the gown matching this swatch at a White House reception. The First Lady stayed seated in a blue velvet chair during public White House receptions, often holding a bouquet so that she could avoid shaking hands. Ida would have been a striking figure; she kept her gray hair cropped short and coiffed with diamond clips or feathered headdresses.

 

 

The 2pp letter accompanying the fabric sample was written by Estelle Adler of 1412 Chapin Street, Washington, D.C. on July 26, 1912. The letter is deeply toned in some places, and has expected paper folds and pin holes.

 

In part: "My dear Mrs. Zirkle - I suppose you thought I had forgotten all about the piece of silk that I promised to send you - but I had to wait until I had time to unpack a trunk in which I had the silk - so am enclosing it - it is a piece of a reception gown that was made by a friend of mine for Mrs. McKinley + worn at a reception at the White House…" The letter is further annotated in pencil: "Elvas [sic friend. Piece of dress worn by Mrs. McKinley at reception."

 

This fabric sample came from the Luray Museum of Luray, Virginia. The museum, which collected pieces of mostly local interest, was started by town resident Mary "Mollie" Zeiler Zerkle (1845-1933) (also the recipient of this 1912 letter!) According to family history, nineteen-year-old "Mollie" had nursed Union soldiers during the Civil War. In 1890, the Zerkles relocated to Luray, Virginia where Lemuel had secured a post as Superintendent of Luray Caverns. Local historian Daniel Vaughn reported that the museum operated between 1938-1960, after which point the collection was sold at auction.

 

Gene H. Baber of Fisherville, Virginia was an avid antique collector. His collection included everything from Civil War letters to epaulettes, from early frakturs to vintage wind-up toys.

 

Provenance: Estate of Gene H. Baber, Fishersville, Virginia; Collection of Mary "Mollie" Zeiler Zerkle and Lemuel Zerkle, Luray Museum, Luray, Virginia.

 


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