Victoria Mansion

Happy birthday to Queen Victoria! In celebration, we are offering free admission today for anyone named Victoria or Albert. (ID required)

May's special exhibit, "A Legacy of Silk and Satin", features four brides whose wedding celebrations took place at Victoria Mansion.

Alice Libby was the youngest daughter of the second owners of the Mansion. She married Merle Brown here on April 12, 1917. The newspaper reported that it was "one of the most important bridals of the week" but added that it was "a very quiet affair owing to family illness." Her father, JR Libby, was in poor health and unable to go downstairs so the ceremony was performed in the upstairs Sitting Room. One of Alice's nieces was the maid of honor, and another was the flower girl.

"A Legacy of Silk and Satin" will continue through the end of May. There are beautiful wedding dresses and vignettes throughout the house as part of the regular tour. We recommend buying tickets in advance on our website to make sure you have a time that will fit your schedule. victoriamansion.org/visit-us/

This dress that is in our current exhibit was not a wedding gown. This outfit (which included a jacket, not shown) was made around 1916 for a woman named Mrs. Amy Goff Gray. It was likely donated to the Victoria Society when they were building their costume collection.

Although little is known about the dressmaker, the ensemble is one of three known surviving examples made from silk manufactured at the Haskell Silk Company, which operated in Westbrook, Maine, from 1874 to about 1930. J.R. Libby, the second occupant of the Mansion, sold Haskell silk in his dry goods store in Portland. The remarkable quality of the hundred year old silk is a testament to the Haskell Silk Company’s guarantee that each length of fabric would “not to break, crock or shift.” Haskell sold millions of yards of silk to stores and garment makers nationwide until the company folded in 1930.