Our #Carnival exhibition is in full swing and thus we would like to propose the translation in English of a popular post from the blog of our Content Provider, the Magyar Nemzeti Levéltár (National Archives of Hungary), presenting a very special photo album from 1885. You can find the original post here
Images of a Former Masquerade Ball
by Gyula Horváth
In the archive of the Festetics family, one of the photo albums features portraits of the noble participants of a previously described masquerade ball, wearing costumes. With the help of the Arcanum Digital Knowledge Base, it was possible to precisely identify the event from contemporary press reports. This revealed the occasion for which the photo album was created and provided details about the costumes worn by the individuals captured in the pictures.
The host of the ball was Count Tasziló Festetics (later a prince) and his wife, Mary Hamilton (formerly a Monaco heiress). Unfortunately, there is no photograph of them in the album, but from newspaper articles, we know that Count Festetics dressed as a 16th-century Spanish grandee, while his wife portrayed Medici Maria. She wore a cherry-red velvet dress with a high golden collar and a crown on her head. Her attire was adorned with pearls, and her hair and neck were adorned with diamond jewelry. The costume cost 20,000 francs.
The ball took place on February 10, 1885, and according to newspapers, several weeks of preparations preceded the splendid event. The venue was the Festetics' palace in Józsefváros, behind the National Museum. (This building is now home to Andrássy University, and its ballroom still shines in full splendor.) Approximately 120 guests were invited to the ball, arriving continuously between 10 p.m. and midnight. Invited guests were escorted by footmen in black coats adorned with gold braiding, carrying torches, up the thickly carpeted stairs. From the staircase, guests entered the foyer, where footmen in rococo costumes with white wigs announced them. Every room in the palace was open to guests. Particularly magnificent was the reception room, where rich tapestries lent spectacular splendor. (These were a gift from Emperor Napoleon I to Mary Hamilton's mother, Princess Maria Amalia of Baden, who was the daughter of Charles, the reigning Grand Duke of Baden, and adopted daughter of Napoleon.) The hosts awaited their guests at the entrance to the reception room.
The distinguished guest of the ball was Prince Philip of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (in German, Prinz Philipp von Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha), the heir to the vast Koháry estate in Hungary. He was also a close friend of Crown Prince Rudolf (later one of the discoverers of Rudolf's lifeless body) and, through marriage, became his brother-in-law. His wife (also his second cousin) was Princess Louise Marie of Belgium, the daughter of King Leopold II of Belgium and the sister of Crown Princess Stéphanie. The marriage of this couple later ended in a scandalous divorce. At the ball, the prince dressed in the attire of a Saxon elector, without portraying a specific historical figure.
Prince Philip of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Reference: MNL OL, Festetics Family Archive in Keszthely, Festetics Family, Photographs (P 240), Item 1, Folder 20, Number 26.
His wife, the princess, appeared as Elsa from "Lohengrin." The costume ball must have been so significant to her that, even though she had scheduled her tailor to come after lunch, when he arrived an hour earlier than planned, the princess immediately left her meal and spent the afternoon and evening preparing and dressing up until 11 p.m.
Louise Marie, Belgian Royal Princess, and Duchess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Reference: MNL OL, Festetics Family Archive in Keszthely, Festetics Family, Photographs (P 240), Item 1, Folder 20, Numbers 1, 2, and 3.
The album features numerous guests whose identities and costumes were successfully identified based on newspaper reports.
Baroness Lo Presti attended the ball dressed as Madame Pompadour. In her case, it is undoubtedly referring to Countess Jozefa Bethlen, the widow of the last male member of the Lo Presti family, Baron Árpád. In 1885, she was the sole living Baroness Lo Presti, and furthermore, among the female members of the Lo Presti family, she was the only one actively participating in Budapest's social life during that period.
Baroness Lo Presti, Countess Jozefa Bethlen. Reference: MNL OL, Festetics Family Archive in Keszthely, Festetics Family, Photographs (P 240), Item 1, Folder 20, Number 6.
Countess Erzsébet Bánffy, wife of Count Richárd Berchtold, dressed in the attire of a noblewoman from the time of Louis XVI. As contemporary reports describe it, she wore a gown made of white satin duchesse with a cutout waist, a rich fichu above it, half-length narrow sleeves decorated with lace in front, and a train gathered into cascading ruffles at the bottom. Around the waist, she had a short, flowing "pastiche" according to the fashion of that time.
Countess Erzsébet Bánffy, wife of Count Richárd Berchtold, in costume. Reference: MNL OL, Festetics Family Archive in Keszthely, Festetics Family, Photographs (P 240), Item 1, Folder 20, Number 7.
Mrs. József Görgey, Klára Lipthay, dressed in the attire of a Sevillian woman, wore a red satin dress with a gold brocade corset and a dark blue velvet Spanish jacket. The skirt was covered with black silk mesh with dark blue and gold pompoms, and the outfit was complemented with jewelry, a gold-embroidered veil, a red camellia, and, of course, a fan.
Mrs. József Görgey, Klára Lipthay, in costume. Reference: MNL OL, Festetics Family Archive in Keszthely, Festetics Family, Photographs (P 240), Item 1, Folder 20, Numbers 8 and 9.
Felicia "Fella" Grimaud d'Orsay (1865–1956), Countess, spent the evening in an 18th-century French costume, imitating the attire of a French woman from the Directory period.
Countess Felicia "Fella" Grimaud d'Orsay in costume. Reference: MNL OL, Festetics Family Archive in Keszthely, Festetics Family, Photographs (P 240), Item 1, Folder 20, Number 10.
Count Imre Széchényi (1858–1905), an agrarian politician, participated in the festivities dressed in the attire typical of 17th-century Dutch male fashion.
Count Imre Széchényi in costume. Reference: MNL OL, Festetics Family Archive in Keszthely, Festetics Family, Photographs (P 240), Item 1, Folder 20, Number 11.
The guests appeared in a wide variety of costumes, choosing historical attire or clothing typical of certain regions. Some even dressed up as fairy-tale characters.
László Inkey (1861–1952), African explorer, dressed as a Bedouin sheikh. Reference: MNL OL, Festetics Family Archive in Keszthely, Festetics Family, Photographs (P 240), Item 1, Folder 20, Number 14.
Baroness Klára Radák, later Baroness Wenckheim Ferencné (1866–1889), in a Gypsy girl costume. Reference: MNL OL, Festetics Family Archive in Keszthely, Festetics Family, Photographs (P 240), Item 1, Folder 20, Number 18.
Mrs. György Almásy, Zenadine Zichy "Zenke" (1865–1924), as a Neapolitan woman. Reference: MNL OL, Festetics Family Archive in Keszthely, Festetics Family, Photographs (P 240), Item 1, Folder 20, Number 19.
Mária Czebrián as Piroska (Chapeau-Rouge). Reference: MNL OL, Festetics Family Archive in Keszthely, Festetics Family, Photographs (P 240), Item 1, Folder 20, Number 21.
Mrs. Géza Andrássy, Eleonora Kaunitz zu Rietberg, dressed as an 18th-century Venetian woman. Reference: MNL OL, Festetics Family Archive in Keszthely, Festetics Family, Photographs (P 240), Item 1, Folder 20, Number 23.
Count Dénes Esterházy (1862–1895) as a Saracen. Reference: MNL OL, Festetics Family Archive in Keszthely, Festetics Family, Photographs (P 240), Item 1, Folder 20, Number 30.
Count Tivadar Pejácsevich (1855-1928), later Croatian-Dalmatian-Slavonian Ban and then Croatian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Austrian grenadier during the War of the Austrian Succession
The company was divided into the small red room, the brown-based smoking room, and the blue salon. Dinner was served at one in the morning, and the guests enjoyed the following courses:
1. Consommé de volailles (Chicken consommé)
2. Fruits au bleu se remoulade (Blue fruits with sauce remoulade)
3. Cotelettes d’Agneau aux petits pois (Lamb chops with peas)
4. Souflé de bécasses Mancel (Mancel woodcock soufflé)
5. Faisans de Keszthely, Rótis (Keszthely pheasants, roasted)
6. Saladé Venetienne (Venetian salad)
7. Bavaroise garni de gelée au champagne (Bavarian cream garnished with champagne jelly)
8. Biscuits á la mousse glacées (Frozen foam biscuits)
9. Fruits et désserts (Fruits and desserts)
The menu included a fish dish that attracted great attention, served swimming in jelly (as if it were alive). After dinner, the orchestra played a czardas, "which was danced with great enthusiasm and encored once." Young nobles generally refrained from dancing because they were reluctant to damage their costumes. Dinner took place on the ground floor, and the dance was in the first-floor hall. The festivities lasted the entire night and concluded at 6 in the morning.
References
- NN: "Jelmezestély Festetics Tasziló grófnál" (Costume Ball at Count Tasziló Festetics). Budapesti Hírlap V. year 42. no. (February 12, 1885) p. 4.
- NN: "Festetics Tasziló gróf" (Count Tasziló Festetics). Budapesti Hírlap V. year 42. no. (February 12, 1885) p. 5.
- NN: "Jelmezbál a Festetich-palotában" (Costume Ball at the Festetics Palace). Fővárosi Lapok XXII. year 34. no. (February 11, 1885) p. 227.
- NN: "A gróf Festetich Tasziló jelmezbálja" (Count Tasziló Festetics' Costume Ball). Fővárosi Lapok XXII. year 35. no. (February 12, 1885) p. 232.
- NN: "Jelmezestély Festetics Tasziló grófnál" (Costume Ball at Count Tasziló Festetics). Pesti Napló XXXVI. year 41. no. (February 11, 1885).
Last Update: September 1, 2022.