Reaction to Mrs Butters' dress
At the Mayoral Ball of 1866, Mrs Butters attracted glowing praise for her imaginative costume.
Perhaps the most notable character in the room was the Press, represented by Mrs Butters. The character has been attempted both in London and Paris, with all the facilities for its representation afforded by these great cities, but in both instances it was a failure. In Melbourne, on the contrary, it is gratifying to be able to announce, that it was a marked success.
The Age 21 September 1866
To complete her costume, Mrs Butters wore a coronet headdress proclaiming, 'Liberty of the Press' and carried a staff with a functioning miniature printing press. Throughout the night she used this press to print lines from Lord Byron’s Lara onto satin ribbons. The Age concluded:
Altogether, the dress was one of great beauty in its general effect, and reflected much credit on the printers who conveyed the impression of the types to the satin fabric, and on the maker, Mrs Dobbs, of Gardiner’s Creek-road.
The dress was in fact such a hit Mrs Butters wore it on a number of subsequent occasions. She updated the costume on its second outing in October 1866 with a sash proclaiming the ‘Second edition’. She then wore it for a third time in 1867 at a ball in honour of the Duke of Edinburgh’s visit. The front panel, which featured the proposed design for the Melbourne Town Hall, was very topical as the Duke had laid the foundation stone for the building only a few days before the ball.
What was printed on the dress?
The papers featured on the dress were The Age, Argus, Weekly Age, Leader, Australasian, Herald, Bell’s Life, Spectator, Journal of Commerce, Government Gazette, Dicker’s Mining Record, Illustrated Australian News, and Punch.
The front panels showed the new design for the Town Hall, a portrait of the just-appointed Victorian Governor Sir H Manners-Sutton (whose first social engagement was the Mayoral Ball) and Mr Punch as portrayed on the front page of Melbourne Punch.
The majority of the panels for the skirt and train were printed from the actual plates and type of the newspapers by Blundell & Ford, a well-known Melbourne printing firm. The exceptions were the Argus and Government Gazette, who printed their own panels.
Who made the dress?
The dress was made by Mrs William Dobbs of Gardiners Creek Road South Yarra. While nothing more is known about her, it is generally agreed that her considerable skill as a dressmaker resulted in the creation of such a wonderful costume.
Conservation of the dress
Thanks to funding from the Violet Chalmers Bequest, the dress has recently undergone extensive conservation treatment. It is currently on display at the National Gallery of Australia. It will then return to the State Library of Victoria. |
