Object Record
Images
Metadata
Collection |
Waterloo Region Museum |
Object ID |
2011.003.001 |
Object Name |
Dress, Wedding |
Description |
.1 - Ecru coloured dress with a fitted bodice and full, floor length skirt. The dress is made from a sheer silk or satin that has a repeating pattern of small vertical pleats in it. The bodice is lined with a cream coloured silk, except for the sleeves which have no lining. The sleeves end in a fitted cuff. There is a large ruffle on the yoke of the bodice with smaller ruffles along the upper edge of the yoke and along the collar. Series of small vertical ruffles on both the front and reverse of the bodice. Closure on the back of the bodice consists of 12 mother-of-pearls buttons. The bodice is sewn directly to the skirt. The skirt is floor length with a short train on the reverse. The front panel of the skirt is edged on either side with a small vertical ruffle. There are two overlapping large ruffles along the hem of the skirt. They match the ruffle on the yoke of the bodice. There is an underskirt also with a large ruffle at the hem made of the same cream coloured material as lines the bodice. The dress is a mixture of machine and hand sewing - indicates some alterations have been done to the dress. .2 - Two-piece brown cardboard box. Printed in red in the upper left corner of the lid is "Norman Gowdy/48 King Street West/Kitchener-Ontario". Handwritten in pencil in the lower right corner of the lid is "Mr. D.L. Kropf/Mutual Life/Union Blvd Entrance". Handwritten in pencil on the top and all four sides of the lid is "Wedding Dress". The lid is completely separate from the base of the box. The interior contains two pieces of cream tissue paper. "Box" is stamped into the centre of the base. |
Date |
1902 |
Dimensions |
W-31 L-157 cm |
History |
The wedding dress was first worn by Wilhelmine (Minnie) Katherine Barbara Vogt (1875-1975) when she married Charles (Carl) Jansen (1871-1966) on November 27, 1902. Minnie was the daughter of George Vogt (1820-1902) and Mary Anne Zing (1831-1925) from Elmira, ON; Carl was the son of Peter Jansen (1840-1908) and Catherine Klinck (1841-1925) also of Elmira, ON. Originally from Germany, George Vogt was a pipe organ builder and hotel keeper in Elmira. One of Minnie's brothers, Augustus Stephen Vogt (1861-1926) taught piano and organ at the Toronto College of Music. He was the only Canadian organist to perform at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair and he was the music critic for Saturday Night. In 1894, Vogt founded the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir. He is a member of the Waterloo Region Hall of Fame. In the 1911 census, Carl and Minnie are listed as living in Galt, ON, and Carl is working as a manager of a motor works. They have three children - Vogt, Wilhelmine, and Albert. In the 1916 Vernon's City Directory, Carl is listed as an office manager at the Galt Machine Screw Company and their home address is 41 Lansdowne Road North. The family is still at the same address in the 1958 city directory. The wedding dress was also worn by Minnie and Carl's daughter Wilhelmine Marianne Jansen (1908-1989) when she married Delton Kropf (1908-1994) on August 30, 1941 at the Jansen family home in Galt, ON. Delton was from Elmira and the son of Herbert Kropf and Clarissa Weber. The couple lived in Kitchener at 599 Glasgow Street after their marriage. Delton was employed with Mutual Life of Canada for over 46 years, and both he and Wilhelmine were members of the Highland Baptist Church. Delton served overseas during the Second World War with the Ninth Canadian Armed Regiment and with the 54th LAA Regiment of the Scots Fusiliers of Canada. Norman Gowdy Ladies' Wear is listed at 48 King Street West, Kitchener, ON in Vernon's city directories from 1939 through 1970. |
Search Terms |
Norman Gowdy Ladies' Wear Mutual Life Insurance |
People |
Vogt, Wilhelmine Katherine Barbara Jansen, Charles Kropf, Wilhelmine Marianne Jansen Kropf, Delton L. |