Most expensive dress of antique design sold at a private sale
According to Official Guinness Records,
The most valuable antique dress sold at auction is an 1888 court dress designed by Charles Frederick Worth (UK) which was sold by Monica Alexandra Seggos (USA) and Robert Frederick von Kampen (USA) on 3 May 2001 at Doyle New York, New York, USA to an anonymous buyer for $101,500 (£70,894). Charles Frederick Worth is considered the world's first couturier. The court gown has a 23-inch waist and a 10-and-a-half-foot detachable train. It belonged to Esther Maria Lewis Chapin (1871-1959), the great-great-grand daughter of George Washington's sister, Elizabeth Washington Lewis (1733-1797). Ms. Chapin's father, Col. Edward Parke Custis Lewis (1837-1892), was the American Ambassador to Portugal under Pres. Grover Cleveland from 1885-1889. It was during this period that Miss Chapin, age 17 or 18, wearing this gown, was presented to Queen Victoria in London. One of Miss Chapin's great grandfathers, Col. John Stevens, established the first ferry service from Hoboken to New York in 1774.Doyle New York curator said something is legally considered an 'antique' when it is at least 100 years old.