Object Record
Images
Additional Images [22]
Metadata
Object Name |
Gown, Wedding |
Donor |
Zuckert, Catherine |
Description |
Cream colored wedding gown, single piece, long sleeved, floor length. The sleeves are moderately fitted and come to a point on top of the hand. Down the sleeve are multiple areas of layered design where the fabric is folded over in sets of threes. Embroidered flowers, also in cream, are on the chest and cuffs. There are two lines of flowers down the chest and two across the shoulders. More flowers are around the collar. The bodice is loose, slightly puffy, and slightly gathered at the waist. There is a solid waistband attached. The dress closes with hooks and eyes on back from the top of the collar to below the waistband. There are two plastic/celluloid stays in the collar, though they are broken and missing pieces. The skirt is mostly straight, but flowy. It is slightly longer in back. |
Dimensions |
W-13 L-58.5 inches |
Creation Date |
ca. 1909 |
Place Of Origin |
Denmark |
Owned By |
Dahm, Marie/Christensen, Agneta/Heldt, Catherine |
Used By |
Dahm, Marie/Christensen, Agneta/Heldt, Catherine |
Material |
satin/metal |
Associated People |
Dahm, Marie Christensen, Agneta Zuckert, Catherine Heldt |
Search Terms |
Dahm, Marie Christensen, Agneta Zuckert, Catherine Heldt wedding dress gown Tyler, Minnesota Cambridge, Massachusetts Miami, Florida embroidery flowers floral |
Given In Memory Of |
In Memory of Agneta C. Heldt & Marie Dahm Christensen |
Provenance |
This wedding dress was worn by three women in the same family. Marie Sophia Dahm first wore this dress for her marriage on August 15, 1909 in Tyler, Minnesota to Thomas Peter Christensen. Then, on November 25, 1941, Marie's eldest daughter Agneta Dahm Christensen wore the dress for her wedding to Henning Heldt in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Finally, Agneta's daughter Catherine Herdis Heldt (the donor) wore it on September 11, 1965 when she married Michael Zuckert in Miami, Florida. Marie was born September 21, 1882 in Chicago to Nicolas Dam and Katrine Nommensen Dam. Marie attended Grand View College (now University) in 1902 and met Thomas. The two became engaged the next year, and finally married in 1909. After attending Grand View, Marie taught rural school near Tyler. She had grown up poor, and then worked very hard to support herself and her mother who had become an invalid in her 50s. She saved money and she and Thomas paid for their wedding. Thomas attended Northern Iowa University (now the University of Northern Iowa) in Cedar Falls, Iowa after his time at Grand View and then taught in the area. Following the wedding, Marie and her mother moved with Thomas to their new home in Tripoli, Iowa for two years and then the family returned to Tyler before moving to Des Moines and finally Iowa City in 1922. Thomas died in 1967, and Marie the following year. Agneta was born December 10, 1911 in Askov, Minnesota. She was sixteen years old when she graduated first in her high school class in Iowa City, and nineteen in 1932 when she graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Iowa with a degree in history. She began teaching high school in Waterloo, Iowa. Later she accepted a fellowship from Boston University where she earned an M.A. and then worked in the editorial department of Houghton Mifflin. In Boston, she met and married Henning Heldt, one of the first Nieman fellows at Harvard University. They were both involved in labor union organizing-she for the CIO, he for journalists. For health reasons, the couple moved to Miami, Florida in 1942, where Henning worked at the MIAMI HERALD and covered Cuba for TIME-LIFE. After he died in 1950, Agneta remained there, working as a high school registrar, helping to open two schools, and raising their two daughters. She was very active in the First Unitarian Church in Miami, even serving on the board, as well as several community organizations. In 2002, Agneta moved to the St. Paul Retirement Community in South Bend, Indiana where she became involved with the local Unitarian church. She died March 9, 2008 in South Bend. Catherine and her sister graduated from Miami Senior High School and earned their undergraduate degrees at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Catherine then earned her PhD at the University of Chicago. She and her husband Michael returned to the University of Chicago after they were married in Miami and completed their doctoral studies. They became one of the first couples during the 1970's to share an academic appointment. Fortunately, their shared appointment at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota expanded over time into two full-time positions as professors of political science. In 1998, they moved to the University of Notre Dame. Catherine retired in 2017. After Michael retired at the end of 2018, they became visiting scholars at the new School for Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership at Arizona State University. |
Date Received by Museum |
09/19/2018 |
Images |
301\2018029001.JPG |
Accession number |
2018.029 |
Object Identification Number |
2018.029.001 |