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100 Years Ago at Merestead
The Wedding Architecture
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Merestead: An Elegant Wedding

The wedding was the social event of the season.  It took place in the early afternoon at St. Bartholomew’s Church in New York City followed by a reception at the brides parents home on 5 West 49^th Street.

During the afternoon, a wedding spread was set up in the New York W & J Sloane store for employees who didn’t attend the wedding. 

In the evening, the department heads and salesmen were treated to a complimentary dinner at a hotel, as a “thank you” from William Sloane for a wedding present. 

In Brooklyn, at the Naval YMCA, a company of sailors and marines cheered the bridegroom who was the Chairman of the Army and Navy Department of the International Committee of the YMCA.  

The Wedding Dress

In the summer of 1904, as Frances Church Crocker prepared for her November wedding to William Sloane, these are the types of outfits she might have worn.  The one on the left is a skirt with jacket, vest and lace frills.  The one on the right is an “Afternoon gown.”   Both wear gloves.

The Wedding Train 

The elegant dress, as a detail of the train shows, was described as “a creation of embroidered white silk and point-lace.”  The bride also had a point-lace veil and wore a pearl necklace that the groom gave her.

Page from the Bride Elect

In the social strata of the Sloane’s, weddings created the same frenzy as that of a celebrity wedding today.  Media hype came in the form of numerous societal articles in the local press leading up to the wedding.  Even the wedding gifts were written about in newspaper articles noting what was received and from whom plus the total monetary value of all the gifts. 

For the Sloane’s, the wedding presents they received were recorded in a book called The Bride Elect.  Unlike their peers, no mention was made in the press about the presents or total value.  The Bride Elect contains 412 entries with gifts coming mostly from the New York area, but also from Japan, Scotland, and India.   The gifts reflect the social milieu of the Sloane family.  Gifts were received from old family friends such as Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Carnegie and Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller and from relatives such as the Hyde Park Vanderbilts.

A Wedding Present:  Black Lion Wharf by James McNeill Whistler, 1859

A book entitled Recollections and Impressions of James A. McNeill Whistler with a bookplace marked, “Frances Church Crocker Xmas 1903” suggests that she liked the works of Whistler.  It may also explain why she received 4 Whistler etchings as wedding gifts from Mr. and Mrs. John Hammond. which includes Black Lion Wharf.

Black Lion Wharf is one of James A. McNeill Whistler’s most famous etchings.  It was also his favorite etching.  It even appears in his famous painting of his mother.  

As an etching, it reflects a new vision of art.  Unlike his contemporaries who created art with a story and meaning, Whistler created Black Lion Wharf because he liked the composition.  It has no story or meaning.  It is what it is, a study of form and lines.  It was also part of a series of etchings he created called the Thames Series from 1859.

Linen Towels with Fringe, 1904

In addition to wedding presents, another important aspect of the wedding was the trousseau.   The groom was expected to furnish the home, but the bride purchased the linens for the trousseau.

The linen towels with a long linen fringe are the penultimate expression of elegance.  They are very understated with minimal decorations, yet made from a high quality luxury fabric. 

If the bride selected them, one wonders why they were found unused on the very top shelf of a linen room wrapped up in a linen sheet?

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