Cheongsam CornerEast Meets Dress Uncategorized The secret in the Cathedral

The secret in the Cathedral

Do you understand what’s going on in this picture? John sent it to me to ask if I might assist him date the gown the lady is using (looks quite early-1930s to me, or else set method in the Art Deco Future), however I’m so fascinated by whatever going on in this picture (the box! the altar! the little-girl pages with swords! the priest!) that I asked him if I might publish it as well as set y’all loose on the problem.

This is what John knows:

The picture was taken in the Cathedral in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The guy is Msgr. Thomas M. Conroy, which dates the picture anywhere from 1921 to when the altar was altered about 1933 or so. No concept who the woman is, or what on earth they are doing, let alone in that beautiful apparel. [ETA: the lady’s name may or may not be Rosemary NEDILASEN or NEUBAUER.]

The picture above is quite small; if you want to download a truly huge one, that you can enlarge to see the detail on the box (a reliquary? an providing of some sort? a time machine?) you can get it here. [UPDATED: here’s a closeup of just the box.

My very first believed was possibly the lady was taking vows of some kind (to ended up being a nun, or to join the area Vestals — I’m sorry, I can’t pull myself away from that Art Deco Future) however John believes that beginners typically didn’t wear so much makeup. Or so much velvet.

What do you believe is going on? If you KNOW, that’s wonderful, however in the meantime, idle conjecture is encouraged.

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