Vintage Dresses and a Rare Discovery
November 16th, 2016
Augusta Auction Company, New York City
Photos courtesy Augusta Auction Company
As part of an estate consignment of Chinese clothing, employees at Augusta Auction Company of Bellows Falls, Vermont, received the surprise of their lives. Upon emptying out the contents of a suitcase in a country house in Vermont, they discovered at the bottom of the suitcase a box of 18 Tiger General honorary medals. These medals had been out of public view for almost 70 years.
According to Karen Augusta, “The medals mirror the military history of China as it evolved during the early decades of the twentieth century.... The discovery tells a story of the rise of China in the early decades of the last century.”
After some intense research, the folks at Augusta Auction Company discovered that the medals had been presented to Chinese general and Republic of China war hero Jiang Dingwen. More research uncovered that the estate they had been asked to auction was that of his daughter, who had lived in the United States since 1947, and that the suitcase contents had been Jiang’s collection of rare Chinese Kuomintang military medals.
All 18 medals found buyers at the November 16, 2016, sale in New York City. Prices ranged (including buyers’ premiums) from $270 to $36,000 split between two bidders in the room. Each of several medals brought $27,500.
For all the advance work that Augusta undertook to research the medals, when the time came for buyers to bid on the medals, the bidding felt fairly subdued and was something of a letdown.
This circa 1900 embroidered silk robe from China of olive silk satin and silk-embroidered peonies, plum blossoms, and pink and blue butterflies is in very good condition and went to the Internet at three times the high estimate for $2250.
A left bid won this full-length embroidered red silk coat (55" long) from China. The dazzling, intricate embroidery depicts purple, red, and white peonies and butterflies, and it is embellished with embroidered black silk bands as accents. It sold for $4200 (est. $500/600).
Aside from the Chinese medals, there were hundreds of lots devoted to couture and vintage fashion and historic textiles. As usual for Augusta Auction Company, most of the major players in the fashion world were represented—names that will always remain recognizable to the vintage fashion crowd—and there were some names not seen frequently among the pages of Augusta’s catalog, such as Lilli Ann, Norma Kamali, Frank Usher, Jean Muir (London), Rifat Özbek, Vicky Tiel, and Amanda Wakeley.
For more information, call (802) 463-3333 or visit the website (www.augusta-auction.com).
Condition Key for Garments and Textiles
- Pristine: Close to perfect, no visible flaws or evidence of wear.
- Excellent: Gentle wear or minor damage, easily repaired.
- Very Good: Basically sound, either has repairs or is in need of repairs.
- Fair: Significant, easily visible evidence of wear or damage.
- Poor: No longer intact, only useful to recycle parts.
After his tenure at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Gilbert Adrian opened his own business in the early 1940s, and the clothes he designed are highly collectible in today’s marketplace. A prime example is this circa 1945 black-and-white wool coat. The front and back yoke have a black and white pinstripe with black piping; the coat’s back and sleeves are solid black; and to the side hips are large button-back pockets. An Internet bidder outlasted the competition to win this coat in very good condition for $1625 (est. $400/600). Not shown, an Adrian-labeled black wool jacket and a sleeveless black silk crepe evening blouse (both in excellent condition and from the late 1940s) went above estimate for $1000, also to an Internet bidder.
Since Charles Worth died in 1895, he didn’t design this circa 1908 cut-velvet gown. Probably it was designed by his younger son, Jean-Philippe Worth (1856-1926), who carried on the fashion tradition set by his father. Of plum velvet cut to chiffon with a lace bodice and undersleeves and wide velvet sash, the gown opened for bidding at $1500 and sold to the Internet at three times the high estimate for $3125.
This highly desirable man’s boat club suit from Hingham, Massachusetts, circa 1850, consists of a white linen shirt and bell-bottom pants. The top has a sailor collar, side slits, front placket, and cuffs in navy blue with four embroidered stars. The pants have a wide fall front and five bone buttons. An attached paper tag reads “Henry Sturgis Grew / Boat Club Suit.” In very good condition, the suit went to a phone bidder for $2400 (est. $1200/1500).
This wool crepe A-line, short-sleeve jeweled-cross party dress, trimmed with a faux necklace of a large rhinestone chain and a Maltese cross, was labeled “Norell for Bonwit Teller” and inscribed “0551.” (Bonwit Teller, a specialty store for women, once stood where Trump Tower is now located.) The dress brought $1200 (est. $400/600).
Displayed on a mannequin in the salesroom, this black silk form-fitting sheath, embellished all over with jet-black bugle beads in zigzag patterns, would seem to have left little room to move when draped on the narrow figure of Eartha Kitt. Don Loper designed the dress for Kitt, as attested by the label “Don Loper / Custom Made for / Eartha Kitt / July 13, 1954 / Special.” The dress sold to an Internet bidder for $5313 (est. $3000/4000).
A painting and textile designer heavily influenced by the new painting style of the Fauves in Paris during the early 20th century, Raoul Dufy specialized in designing silk and brocade fashions for women, as exemplified by this patterned lamé coat from the 1920s. Of black silk ground with a large-scale multicolor fruit print and gold lamé brocade, kimono sleeves, and a gold lamé edge trim, this coat opened for bidding at $4250 from an absentee bidder, then sparked interest in the room, Internet, and a bidder on Karen Augusta’s phone. It sold to a collector for $8400.
Originally published in the February 2017 issue of Maine Antique Digest. © 2017 Maine Antique Digest
