52Ancestors52Weeks Week 29 Theme: Fashion....Emma King Hayes Van Duzer and The City of Paris in San Francisco

 Emma Lavinia King  

 Photograph taken at the Globe Portrait Co., 1067 Market Street, San Francisco.  Sometime between 1905-8. 

Enlarged to show more detail. 

  This is a picture of my Great Grandmother, Emma King Hayes Van Duzer (b. April 13, 1888 St. Austell - d. November 24, 1978 Grass Valley, California).  This picture was taken sometime between 1905-1908 in San Francisco, California.  Nana, who was always known for her fashion sense, worked as a milliner and dress maker in Grass Valley throughout her life.  She most likely made the hat as well as the dress in this picture.  The ostrich feathers were very fashionable for the day.  The fur coat is stunning!  The family story is that she learned her millinery skills working at the City of Paris department store in San Francisco.  Was that possible?  This is her fashion story....

  Before the 1906 San Francisco earthquake Nana had been working at the Hale Brothers Department Store on Market Street. She was 5 days shy of her 18th birthday  at the time of the quake.  The store was damaged in the earthquake but continued to sell its products on the sidewalk.  Nana  was living with her parents Charles J. King and Anna Levers King at 1900 Golden Gate Avenue at the time of the quake and although the house itself was not damaged, the gas was turned off.  She related the story of having to wash out her white shirt waists each day and then having to iron them with the flat iron heated on the cook stove out in the yard so she could go to work.  The department store sold its salvaged wares on boards placed across saw horses, and expected its employees to still come to work.  

  The next family story says that Nana worked at the department story City of Paris, where she learned her millinery skills.  The original City of Paris was located at the corners of Stockton and Geary, across from Union Square.  I was not so sure this story was quite correct, as the store survived the earthquake but the interior was badly damaged.  It was not refurbished and reopened until 1909, a year after she married Lester Hayes.  After doing some research, I found out that the store did have a temporary location in the Hobart Mansion on Van Ness Avenue right after the quake, and so she may have worked there.  Perhaps she got  tired of working on the sidewalk for Hale Brothers and obtained a new job!   This part of her story could very well be true.  

  

The City of Paris Department Store.  This photograph was taken shortly after the 1906 earthquake and fire. While the damage to the building is apparent, many surrounding buildings were completely destroyed.  The interior of the  building was subsequently remodeled in 1909 and then the entire building was demolished in 1981 by the Neiman -Marcus company and  a new department store was erected on this site. It is located at the corner of Geary and Stockton, across from Union Square.   https://www.theclio.com

  

  This is from a period postcard depicting the transformation of the Hobart Mansion into the chain's headquarters and signature store before moving back to the Union Square location. Following the earthquake, Van Ness Avenue served as the temporary commercial center and main thoroughfare of San Francisco.  The house was originally built as a wedding present for Aimee Crocker and Richard Porter Ashe. When they divorced in 1887 the mansion was sold to the W.S. Hobart family.  It survived the earthquake and fire, as well as the firebreak created when the rest of the street was dynamited by soldiers in a successful attempt to prevent the firestorm from spreading west to the entire city.  It was unoccupied at the time and was then leased to the owners of the department store.  aimeecrocker.com

  This would have been a wonderful place to work!  Nana learned to make hats in the latest styles and was probably using her sewing skills as well to create wonderful apparel for the women of the city as the residents were rebuilding and making San Francisco into the "Paris of the West" that it became after the earthquake and fire.  I wonder if she got to see the Turkish bath on the third floor that Aimee Crocker Ashe had put in!  Sadly, the building "passed out in a blaze of some magnitude" in 1913 after being deserted for a number of years. 

  

A more informal photo of Emma King and Charles J. King at the Cliff House.  From the King Album.  Taken before September 7, 1907 (the Cliff House survived the earthquake of 1906 but burned in 1907).  The sleeves of this coat look similar to the coat in the first picture at the top of the post, although the length is shorter and does not have the wide fur trim.  Emma was an excellent seamstress, and may have altered her clothing.  This hat is more appropriate for a day on the beach. 

Emma King from the King Album.  Taken between 1905-1908. This hat looks like it is made of fur with a bow on top.  

Unknown friend or relative.  From the King Album.  Hat probably made by Emma King. 

  

Nana with an unknown little girl.  From the King Album.  This hat looks to be made of straw.  Note the gold watch necklace around Emma's neck.  It is still in the family. 

 Anna King from the King Album.  This could be a mourning outfit. She is holding a dark fur stole in her left hand.  Hat probably made by Emma King. 

Emma King and Spot.   Picture from the King Album. Taken between 1905-1908.  Even though she is not wearing a hat, she is wearing her hair up so she must be at least 17 years old.  Pompadour styles during this time were needed to be big enough and structured enough to support the size and weight of large hats which were so popular in the Edwardian period. 

 

  

    This is one of my favorite photos.  Nana is on the right, with her daughter Dorothy Ross Hayes Arthur (Auntie Dot) on the left.  The photo was taken at the Golden Gate International Exposition in 1939, which was a World's Fair located on Treasure Island in San Francisco.  The fair commemorated the opening of the Oakland Bay Bridge in 1936 and the Golden Gate Bridge in 1937.  A very grand excuse to dress up and be seen!  Note the feathers and the fur.  They are both very fashionable. 

Written on back "Taken in San Jose".  This must have been part of the trip to Treasure Island.  Nana is wearing a different hat and jacket here.  

  When Nana moved to Grass Valley she continued with her millinery business.  She had a small shop on Mill Street (where Hedman Furniture was eventually located).  Mom (Margaret Hansen Boothby) remembers that there was a tobacco/alcohol shop, a soda fountain and a Dollar store  next to Nana's shop when she was growing up. Nana's shop had hat stands on the counter to display her many hats.  She kept her own hats on hats stands at her home. She made hats out of aqua horse hair braid for the wedding of Alice Tinloy and Ed Yun in 1947.  The hats were large picture hats and matched the girls' dresses, which she probably made also. Later in life she would purchase hats and add her own special touches--a feather, a bow, a fancy hat band or some flowers. Mom remembers that she never  wore her hats straight on her head but always at a jaunty angle. 

   Nana was a very talented designer and creator of women's fashion throughout her life, which I will continue with in more posts. She created many outfits and wedding gowns for family members as well. She could also crochet and knit, and taught her daughters, grand daughters and great grand daughters how to embroider.  During the quilting craze of the Bicentennial era (1976) she learned quilting (which was never really her forte) and started the quilting group at the Methodist Church, which is still going strong today.

  Emma began her fashion journey in a city that was beginning to rebuild after much devastation.  I believe that she really did work at The City of Paris for a time.  She was learning a trade that let her use her creative talents that she carried with her for the remainder of her life.  It also must have been a very exciting time to be living in San Francisco! 

Nana as I remember her, in the 1970's.  She continued making her own clothes later in life.  She was always impeccably dressed, where ever she went. 

Relationship Reference:  Me-> Margaret Hansen Boothby->Margaret Elizabeth Hayes Hansen->Emma Lavinia King Hayes Van Duzer->Charles J. King and Anna Levers King