Collection: Imperial Museum of Brazil, Petrópolis Imperial Palace, Brazil
Princess Maria Amélia of Brazil
Dona Maria Amélia (1 December 1831 – 4 February 1853) was a princess of the Empire of Brazil and a member of the Brazilian branch of the House of Braganza. Her parents were Emperor Dom Pedro I, the first ruler of Brazil, and Amélie of Leuchtenberg. The only child of her father's second marriage, Maria Amélia was born in France after Pedro I abdicated the Brazilian throne in favor of his son Dom Pedro II. Before Maria Amélia was a month old, Pedro I went to Portugal to restore the crown of the eldest daughter of his first marriage, Dona Maria II. He fought a successful war against his brother Miguel I, who had usurped Maria II's throne.
G. K. Benda (Georges Kugel Benda). Grand manteau d'hermine garni d'un col de zibeline (Large ermine coat trimmed with a sable collar). Modele Max-Auspitz. La Gazette du Bon ton, 1912.
I remember well the evening [my mother] obtained the coat and wore it home in the car. It was raining and she got out of the car and looked at me standing in the window and began dancing a jig.
-Amalie Adler Ascher, daughter of Alene Steiger Adler, 1989
Evening coat with matching stole, 1941. Gift of Amalie Adler Ascher. JMM 1989.167.30.
This luxurious and expensive ermine coat, “hand tailored” by Havelock & Selenkow, Baltimore, was given to Alene Steiger Adler (1906-1962) by her husband, Charles Adler, Jr., on her 35th birthday. She wanted it to wear to the yearly performances of New York’s Metropolitan Opera at Baltimore’s Lyric Theatre.
Alene Steiger Adler in two different furs: right, what looks like a beaver fur coat, circa 1930; left, wearing the ermine stole over a light jacket, circa 1942. Both, gift of Amalie Adler Ascher. JMM 1989.167.9f, q
A white ermine coat like this one was not only expensive – made of a rare fur, and lots of it (with bonus tails sewn into the lining) – but it was also delicate, requiring careful and costly maintenance. To add to the wow factor, and to the required maintenance, the inner seams are lined with ermine tails. In other words, owning and wearing this coat was a statement of wealth.
Not everyone could afford this high level of fur achievement, but by the 1920s at least something of fur was in reach for many people – even if it needed a few months or years of saving up first. Fur muffs and tippets, and coats with fur collars, could add a bit of warmth, style, and luxury to a well-made, but otherwise relatively inexpensive, outfit.
Rose Schuchman of Baltimore purchased this “llama and fine virgin wool” tweed coat at Schleisner’s, her favorite department store, as part of her trousseau; she married Rev. Morris Klavan in December 1940. In the photo at left, she’s also wearing the matching tweed hat. Coat: Gift of Joyce Klavan Jandorf. JMM 2005.54.1 Photo: Courtesy of Joyce Klavan Jandorf.
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The American incarnation of Ermine Coat are my favorite people in the world.
Preview coming very, very soon!
In the meantime, check out the music of Alex Griffin/Ermine Coat!
