Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-01-14
JUST GOSSIP ABOUT PEOPLE
Nancy Wynne Tells of Further Plans for the Academy
Anniversary BalI-She Quotes from Old
Newspaper Account of the Ball of 1857

TT, the things j hear about the an
n niversary ball to be held In the
ACADEMY of Music sound perfectly
..orderfuI to me. And have you seen
,bo programs which give an account
=, tho first ball copied from one of the
.,.ysnapers of those days? It's a
.oroam. Just regular ''small town
stutf " I think. I'll quote IL for you I:
rhs Grand Inauguration Ball at the
Academy of Music, for which 80 much
.crcnaration has been made and such
Pnnef,,l anticipations have been in.
ddUUfged, took place last night Us soon
si,sr the opsal"EF opsooF the tSs guests G0be began
ha'a,pi arrive, and for several hours. hun.
70 9,ods Of carriages lined Broad and
dIeus streets and act down at the
doors hSTpot of the Opera House their fair
burthsns,; = description " Of the scene
10 ds'"' The immense building was
,ishted and warmed throughout and
snrv ns mart of the house was
,si,,ersIly overrun with people. -,
Tbe grand ballroom was formed py
oorng over the the,s parap'e reap Of S the stage stage
., arranged to represent a grove
w.I, waS n tgrotto scene in the back
WIND THE artificial grove was
allied with beautiful howering plants
IN pots, and among them q neat ti,iimg LINZ
inip III sent aloft showers OF sparkling
spray. ,., u,ere filled throughout
II, nv na,,ening with ladies, and the scene
sou ule The fete was at It's heignt was
,ha W' most splendid OF the Rina e'es
witnessed in Ph,lausip,fsc a,,srpp,fscent mt an al
fa;r no, ia seen in any part OF the w1riu. %
iair ian 10 we're probably over four tnou-
Ihe,e rersons present at one TINE
sspH Snrinp the night, and sueh an af,"y neusr
Of elegantly dressSeiHi essssSeiHiaaelphia' in w
bso 1etorbe ba,I was the most splendid anair
Inc pr rresnects that has ever come OH
IN az ~ city. The elegance. Oh tne
IN ses Ine worn by the ladies, was tne
theme of general remark. we prusseIs are mIs
yersed in the 1svets @y'tshliss tulis etc. we only
,tUey ,aHe, That That the dresses were maghlm-
NU" a., the extreme, and we are as
csrod csnod nv those familiar with eusn
sn,,ors that some individuals among
the fair participants were ns doiiars Sirs
the cost Of thousands OF oo''"'''
Alasl even in those days money
,osmed TO count, did 1t not!
AS A matter Of fact, Madame vera
n rot;na. the celebrated Russian
so,oor ia IN add to the interest OF the
unm;versary ua ball by appearing In sew
nn arni of her wonderful dances, and there
% r,;ii be n ouadrille danced by about two
tnndred H men and women dressed in the
".,ioa of 1857. Then Alva Sergeant
I'd srd charlie Morgan will dance the old
Sm Sosh toned yarsouvienne, and the old
to.b;oned music Is being arranged Tor
both dances.
Aside from the quadrille in costume,
there will be wonderful exhloltlon
of hcirlooms collected in many prom
mont homes Of this city. Many OF the
dancers will appear in the costumes
worn by their ancestors to that splenalu
holl, the anniversary OF which IL pelns
celebrated.
Mrs. George Purves, who was Mar
,orotta Benson. and who is in charge OF
ono of the sets in the Quadrille, will
,yo,r the costume of salmon pink
brocadc which was worn by Mrs. John
p Lewis mother in 1857. Miss
Elizabeth Ives, of New York. who is
a grandnicce of Miss Rebecca Wether-
N who led the grand march in 1851.
win dance in the opening quadrille,
and will wear the same gown worn by
bor aunt at the first ball. The Misses
Cushman. of 90 Pine street, who are
o,so grandnieces of Miss Wetherill, will
annear in some of the old family cos
tunes.
TN MANY shops throughout the city
L will be exhibitions Of old jewels that
will afterward be shown at the exhibit
rho night of the ball. Flora Nc
Tlimsy," the doll owned by Mrs. j;
Madison Taylor, which was purchased
at the Sanitary Fair in 1864, will be
shown with her entire extensive ward J.
robe. The doll was dressed by famous
dressmakers at that time, and her gowns
are fine examples OF the styles of that
day. On good authority she is said
TO be the original inspiration of Will
liam Allen Buffers Nothing tc
Wear The dolls MADAME Rush
and Peggy Shipper" dressed by
Adler, will be shown bcdecked will
costly jewels. These dolls will b'
auctioned off the night of the bail
Many are lending their old time jewelry
which. too, will soon be exhibited
There will also be an exhibit of gown
Of the period. Mrs. George Dal lla
Dixon has contributed three beautiful
gowns worn by her mother.
SO accurately are the details beini
carried out that the original tic ket, ;
few of which have been preserved. will
he reproduced on the program. Davi'
ltasco, a dancing master of fame II
the tfties, and who was master of cerc
monies at the original ball, will b.
impersonatcd by Charles Morgan, whit
Is drilling the dancers.
NANCY WYNNE.