Duchesse de Bruxelles Collar with provenance

17.25" across, ~13" tall laid flat.
A few loose spots.

It appears that the neckpiece is an addition, and the design is close, but doesn't quite match the outer collar. There are no raised roses in the main collar, and no raised elements on halfstitch. This might make the outer collar a little earlier than the neckpiece.

Documentation:
This lace "bertha" was made in Belgium for Madam Roentgen, wife of the distinguished physicist who discovered the X-ray. She gave it to Frau Geheimrat Boveri, wife of the chancellor of the University of Würtsburg and a biologist who set up the first Department of Biology at Vassar College. She in turn gave it to Dr. Edna Carter, Head of the Physics Department at Vassar College for many years. Miss Carter gave it to me while I was teaching there for a "something old" to wear on my wedding day.
I do not know of anyone who would appreciate it more than you may, and perhaps you will be able to use it on one of your lovely doll costumes.
Evelyn G. Nelson

Signed E G Nelson on the back of the pink cloth mount. Evelyn G. Nelson was a professor of Economics at Vassar.

The seller says it was found at a garage sale with the accompanying documentation. The identity of 'you' in the note is not known.

Roentgen discovered X-Rays on November 8, 1895, and imaged his wife's hand on December 22, 1895. This is credited as the first X-Ray imaging a part of the human body. Her comment on seeing the image was "I have seen my death".

purchased 03/07/2016
first posted 02/22/2017