specialty fashion & textile sales

Our spring 2-day sale offered over 1050 catalogued lots to bidders and thousands more uncataloged at the May 2nd Discovery sale.

A major sale highlight was an important textile collection put together prior to 1933 by Dr. Charles E. Mullin. Dr. Mullin was a chemist for American Celanese Co. with a specialty in fabric dyes and dyeing techniques. He traveled extensively throughout Europe & Asia in the 1920s and early 1930s collecting regional textiles and garments. Many of the 200+ Mullin textile lots still have pre-1932 tags attached which include his written comments. Dr. Mullin's comprehensive photo archive of rural people at work producing textiles was sold on May 1st.

Also sold was an astounding collection of very fine estate linens from the Woodmere Museum, as well as deaccessions from the Fairfield Historical Society & The Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising. A highlight of the May 2 clothing sale was a large collection of rural French work clothing, the lifetime collection of the late Bryony Thomasson. She was a renowned British antique clothing dealer who supplied clothing for many period films, including those produced by Merchant-Ivory.

The sale was held in two sessions. Session I: 10am Tuesday May 1st will feature all textiles, fabrics, linens, laces & Asian garments. Session II: 10am Wednesday May 2nd included women's, men's and children's clothing, fashion accessories & related objects.

A Discovery Sale with thousands of uncataloged garments, accessories & textiles followed Wednesday's cataloged sale.

May 1st. - 10 am: Session I

Textiles, Tapestries & Fabrics:

Rare, ancient Egyptian robe & fragments, early Mariano Fortuny fabrics, woven & printed paisleys, export shawls, 1876 Philadelphia Exposition bandana, 17th – 20th C. fabrics incl. rare Asian highlights from an incredible collection, all amassed pre-1932: includes batiks & fine weavings from Java & Sumatra, pre-1930s tie-dye samples, Japanese indigo prints,  silk &  lame fabric samples, Deco print Celanese samples, 19th & early 20th C. fabric samples & books, early 20th C. Asian textile production photographs, Chinese robes and other Asian garments.

Linen & Lace:

Handmade antique laces and trims, Heirloom bed and table linens, including lace curtain panels, handmade lace banquet cloths, Normandy spreads, boudoir shams, 18th  & 19th C. laces, fine handmade bobbin & needle lace wedding veils, flounces, shawls, berthas, and yardage, quantity of French homespun linen sheets.

May 2nd - 10 am: Session II

Women’s, Men’s, Children’s Clothing & Accessories, early 19th C - 1970s:

Paul Poiret Dress, Fortuny velvet robe, Erte-style gown, Early swimwear, Phoebe Hearst’s beaded silk 1870’s afternoon gown, Irish crochet wedding gowns,  ladies whites, early 20th C lingerie, 19th C. corsets, beaded, sequined 20s & 30s dresses, 19th C ...ladies & gents shoes, labels include Dior,  Yves Saint Laurent, Ceil Chapman, Courreges, Fortuny, Worth, Guy Laroche, Lilli Ann, Liberty & others, fancy tea gowns, Battenburg lace jackets & coats, elaborate Civil War & bustled ball gowns, Children’s day & party wear. LARGE collection of Menswear, including collarless shirts, rural French 19th & early 20th C. work clothing & rare homespun garments, many in trade lots.