Herman Patrick Tappe Velvet Cape - Dating and Fur ID

Hi all,

I am hoping to confirm the date of this piece, as well as the fur type.

Via Google, I found five or so ads from the 20s in The Brooklyn Eagle and one from the New York Times, also from the 20s, for a Tappe store located at 12 West 40th Street. The VFG entry on Herman Patrick Tappe indicates that Tappe founded the House of Tappe in 1910 at 57th Street. Was the store at 12 West 40th simply a satellite store, whereas the 57th Street location was the more formal studio? Or was the 12 West 40th address an earlier location? Given the dates of the ads with the 12 West 40th Street address, I'm guessing the cape dates from the 20s.

I believe the cape is made of silk velvet and lined in black satin. There is only a single button closure. Someone attached a snap at the neck, but only the receiving side of the snap remains. There are soft underhairs to the fur with slightly more rough exterior hairs that are just a wee bit oily.

Many thanks for your time,
Jennifer

 

Oh my - nothing educational to say - just lovely cape - oh that front draping...

 

Beautiful cape. That high stand collar would be early 1920s.
As to the stores, which was the first or more important, that's hard to say. I think that information might be likely to come from ads or news stories.

 

That is stunning. I would date it to be somewhere between 1930 to 1934. The length of capes like this became a little bit longer and fur trim became very lavish at the time.

I don't know about 67th street but 57th Street was listed as their home. They did have furs there.

This article came from a 1932 newspaper.

 

That is one gorgeous cape and a fabulous find. I see early 1920s in this one, especially in the funnel collar and general silhouette.

I have 2 Tappe hats that date to somewhere in the late 'Teens to early 1920s. My label says "La Mode Chez Tappe" and has wonderful graphics.

I occasionally see ads for Tappe in my antique and vintage magazines from the same eras. 1910s, 20s and 30s.

 

My apologies. I see this as dating between 1920-1924, not 1930-1934.

 

Hi Mary Jane, thank you for your input! Yes, the color of the fur is more that shown in the main photos. It never occurred to me that it was a cloak, a and not a cape. Silly me! Thanks, too, for highlighting the distinction.

 

Same same, and it's really in gorgeous condition. The collar feels like a cradle.

 

Hi Hollis, thanks for input. It seems everyone agrees about the early 20s. I'll keep trying to unravel the mystery of the stores. Thank you, again!

 

Thank you, Caryn, for this and your correction below. What a great article. I'll keep searching articles - this seems like the best way to research the existence of the stores, as Hollis suggested. Would you agree with Mary Jane that the fur is mink?

 

Hi Barbara,

Thank you for your reply. I'd love to see a picture of your hat label - it sounds wonderful. Yes, the cloak is really stunning. I felt so lucky to find it. It seems that everyone agrees it dates from the 20s.

It's my impression that you really don't see Tappe hats or garments all that often. I noticed that a wedding gown and a couple hats are in the Met's collection.

I always love being awakened to a new corner of design history!

 

I’m so sorry Jennifer. I must have been having a really off day when I responded.

It is mink as MJ thought and is a natural light brown color that years later was called pastel and then autumn haze which was trademarked by emba, a group of mink breeders.

 

Hello Jennifer, I’ve been researching designs by Herman Patrick Tappé who was my mother’s great uncle and my Great Granduncle. As my mom is aging I guess I’m so curious about her heritage and ancestors so I started researching. I found your post on this sight about the cape. It is very beautiful and just wondered where you were lucky enough to come across this piece. I’ve been looking and never seem to find anything out there for sale that I could donate to our local museum in Sidney, Ohio which is where he was born. I’d love to hear your story on this piece if you’d care to share it. Thank you for sharing your pictures. Cynthia

 

I would love to be able to offer something else, but I’m not sure I have anything else to add or I’m not sure exactly what information you might be looking for. My mom had always told me he was just a milliner, but in researching what little bit I’ve done, I see where he’s done wedding gowns, veils, bridesmaid dresses and even orchestrated (basically a wedding planner) the entire wedding for some important people in society. I’ve just started reading a dissertation from a someone that attended S.U.N.Y. Fashion Institute of Technology and it is full of great information about his contributions to the Fashion Industry. Really very interesting I think. Hope that helps.