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Something Old, Something New: Elizabeth Tyler

Gallery

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    The President’s House

    Date: 1848

    Creator: Augustus Kollner

    Medium: Lithograph

    This Polk administration-era lithograph shows how the north façade of the White House would have looked during the Tyler presidency. An airy, open street with people promenading in Lafayette Square represents an era with less security measures and a more rural setting.

    White House Collection/White House Historical Association

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    Priscilla Cooper Tyler

    Medium: Drawing

    Priscilla Cooper Tyler, pictured here, was Elizabeth’s older sister-in-law and played the role of White House hostess as First Lady Letitia Tyler was partially paralyzed by a stroke and unable to perform the required social duties. The 26-year-old former actress regularly put on impressive and successful social events at the White House, including a party with a reported three thousand guests in March of 1842. It is notable that Elizabeth and William’s nuptials were private–much less like the large social events of the typical “Virginia-style” wedding. Priscilla opted to keep the guest list for the wedding of her sister intimate; the private family affair hinted at the quiet future of Elizabeth and William in Virginia.

    Library of Congress

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    Flounce with Flowers, Scrolling Leaves, and Scalloped Border

    Date: 19th century

    Medium: Spanish blonde silk bobbin lace

    This flounce is an example of Spanish blonde silk Bobbin lace made in the nineteenth century. Elizabeth’s wedding veil was said to be of blonde lace, a type of silk Bobbin lace originally made in France and worn by wealthy women in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. It is made of raw, undyed silk threads, which is where the term “blonde lace” comes from–though in later years, blonde lace dyed black also became a popular trimming for expensive gowns.

    Courtesy of the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

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    Silk Wedding Ensemble

    Date: 1844

    This European silk wedding ensemble from 1844 is an example of a silk bridal costume in the 1840s style. Though no exact details of Elizabeth’s wedding gown remain, it is known that her blonde lace veil was made of silk, making it reasonable that her gown had similar silk fabrics or trimmings. American silk production had increased by the 1840s and one estimate of American silk production in 1843 valued it at $1.4 million. In December 1839, a national silk convention was held in Baltimore. The rising agricultural and political importance of American-made silk may have led to its incorporation in Elizabeth’s wedding gown.

    Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of Miss Irma Schueler, 1953

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    Queen Victoria’s Wedding Dress

    Date: 1840

    Creator: Mary Bettans

    Medium: Cream silk satin with Honiton lace

    Contrary to popular belief, Queen Victoria’s 1840 wedding gown was not the sole origin of the white wedding dress, but her white silk satin gown with an eighteen-foot-long court train pictured here did help popularize the bridal “look” that persists today. Elizabeth Tyler, like many women across the British Empire and beyond, would likely have seen and perhaps been inspired by Victoria’s English-made wedding ensemble.

    Royal Collection Trust / © His Majesty King Charles III 2023

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    Silk Taffeta and Silk Blonde Lace Wedding Ensemble

    Date: Circa 1841-1843

    This American wedding dress circa 1841-1843, made from silk taffeta and blonde lace, depicts the style of the decade in a simple way: sloping shoulders, an elongated, small waist, a very full skirt, and an exposed neckline. The blonde lace, silk, and restrained style is reminiscent of the few words illustrating the bride on the day of her nuptials.

    Courtesy of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Gift of Dorothy M. Dixon

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About this Gallery

Elizabeth “Lizzie” Tyler, the fifth child of President John Tyler and First Lady Letitia Christian Tyler, married William Nevison Waller, an attorney from Virginia, on January 31, 1842.