Description
The extraordinary story of Oldřich (Ulrich) Rosenbaum (1896-1991), a leading Prague tailor, couture designer and fashion designer who created elegant and highly fashionable clothing for wealthy clients in Czechoslovakia and then in the USA for more than seventy years, including the history of his exclusive fashion houses in Prague, Karlovy Vary and New York.
The book traces the development of the tailoring firm from its founding by Elisabetta Stein, née Rosenbaum, in 1881, its heyday during the First Republic, its decline after the Nazi „Aryanization“ of the early 1940s, and the Communist nationalization of 1948. Using the fates of Rosenbaum’s family, his associates and customers, he creates a plastic picture of the Czech-Jewish-German environment of interwar Prague. The professional activities of Oldric Royce – as Oldrich Rosenbaum renamed himself after moving to the USA in 1939 – culminated in the establishment and operation of a highly successful fashion factory in New York, which won several professional awards and whose customers included the wives of politicians, including US presidents, famous actresses such as Ginger Rogers and Marlene Diettrich, and some of America’s weal including US presidents, famous actresses such as Ginger Rogers and Marlene Diettrich, and some of America’s wealthiest ladies, such as the businesswoman, philanthropist and collector Marjorie Merriweather Post. Oldrich Rosenbaum’s work and life story are illustrated with over 180 reproductions, including authentic examples of his clothing, provided by Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens and UPM.
