Wedding Portrait of Elizabeth Parke Firestone, June 25, 1921

THF119879 / Wedding Portrait of Elizabeth Parke Firestone, June 25, 1921
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Artifact Overview

Elizabeth Parke, daughter of a prosperous Decatur, Illinois, businessman, and Harvey S. Firestone, Jr., son of the founder of the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, met at a dance at Princeton around 1920. Their 1921 wedding was the most lavish Decatur had ever seen. Elizabeth -- who would become well-known for a refined sense of fashion -- likely made her own wedding dress.

Artifact Details

Artifact

Photographic print

Date Made

25 June 1921

Subject Date

25 June 1921

Collection Title

Location

By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center

Object ID

89.492.1861

Credit

From the Collections of The Henry Ford. Gift of Mrs. Harvey Firestone, Jr.

Material

Paper (Fiber product)

Technique

Gelatin silver process

Color

Black-and-white (Colors)

Dimensions

Height: 9.938 in
Width: 7.625 in

Inscriptions

Stamped in blue ink on verso: PLEASE CREDIT FRANK MOORE STUDIO PHOTOGRAPHERS--LENNOX BLDG. CLEVELAND
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    Wedding Dress, Worn by Elizabeth Parke Firestone, 1921

    Elizabeth Parke, the daughter of a prosperous Decatur, Illinois, businessman, was known for her meticulous attention to fashion detail. Family notebooks include costume sketches in her hand, and relatives remember Elizabeth designing and sewing many of her own fashions. It is likely that she made this dress for her 1921 wedding to Harvey S. Firestone, Jr., son of the founder of the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company.
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    Elizabeth Parke Firestone's Wedding Shoes, 1921

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