Julia Finch Gilbert was photographed in the full court gown ensemble she wore to meet the king and queen of England in 1925.
If you haven’t seen Julia Gilbert’s court gown yet, on display in Keeler Tavern Museum’s Cass Gilbert Dining Room, make time to do so in the next few months. Sheltered within an architecturally stunning alcove and illuminated with museum-quality spotlights, the display is as dazzlingly elegant as the gown itself.
Like any museum, we have to limit our textiles’ exposure to sunlight — of which there is a good deal, despite our having storm windows with UV-protective glass. As well, we can’t leave garments on mannequins for extended periods of time; the pull of gravity strains the fabric and its seams. Fortunately, when we put Mrs. Gilbert’s nearly 100-year-old gown away for a rest this summer, we’ll still be able to show it off, thanks to the Ridgefield Woman’s Club.
A formal portrait was taken of Mrs. Gilbert wearing the gown, presumably at about the same time Cass Gilbert and she were presented to the English Court of King James in 1925. The club’s grant has enabled us to create a life-size reproduction of the portrait, using a retractable banner. When Mrs. Gilbert’s gown is resting, its image will come to the alcove’s forefront. Thank you, Ridgefield Woman’s Club, for enabling our docents to tell the gown’s story year-round to our 9,000 annual visitors.
The silk brocade gown ensemble worn by Julia Gilbert when she was presented to King George and Queen Mary of England in 1925 is displayed on a mannequin at the Textile Conservation Workshop in South Salem, N.Y., which restored it for the Keeler Tavern Museum. Behind, from left, are Textile Conservation Workshop Director Patsy Orlofsky; Keeler Tavern Museum Assistant Curator Erika Askin; Keeler Tavern Curator Karen McChesney; museum President Joel Third; Alison Castaneda, who did the restoration work on the gown at the textile workshop; and Hildegard Grob, Keeler Tavern Museum executive director. — Macklin Reid photo