Wedding dress, 1920-39
Finnigans Ltd, Bond Street, London
Satin long-sleeved brocade wedding dress from the Harris family of Falmouth. With flared skirt, ruched bodice, fitted waistline and 34 covered buttons down the back. Given with separate shawl collar and headdress.
Length 1510mm, width 420mm.
Materials
Associations
Satin.
Harris Family.
Finnigans Ltd label. Brian Finnigan established House of Finnigan’s in 1830 in Manchester. It was a house of leather goods and saddlery. The passenger railway development at this time increased demand for travel goods like trunks and bags, and Finnigan’s enjoyed a booming trade.
They exhibited at the 1851 Great Exhibition at Crystal Palace, and won a gold medal there for craftsmanship. By 1855 they had two branches in London.
William Finnigan took over when his father died in 1868. He opened the shop at 18 New Bond Street, which attracted American millionaires like the Rockefellers and Vanderbilts. By the 1900s, they included fashion and jewellery departments in their stores.