Steamer Trunk of the Incomparable Hildegarde Surfaces in NYC! High end consignment service obtains steamer trunk of The Incomparable Hildegarde.
The Decorator's Exchange has listed this trunk on eBay while seeking an appropriate charity auction beneficiary.
Long Island high end furniture reseller The Decorator's Exchange recently acquired a steamer trunk which once belonged to The Incomparable Hildegarde, famed vaudeville and cabaret singer.
Born Hildegarde Loretta Sell, on February 1, 1906 in Adell, Wisconsin, Hildegarde's career in vaudeville and the supper club circuit spanned over 40 years.
Discovered in the 1920s by Irving Berlin while working as a song plugger in his publishing house, Hildegarde reached many notable heights in her career. She is the 4th most recorded singer in the history of music, and one of the first international recording artists, performing in Paris and London as well as her home base of NYC; she was the highest paid cabaret singer in the world in the 1940s; was dubbed "The First Lady of Supper Clubs" by Eleanor Roosevelt; she was one of the first performers to be have a female manager, Anna Sosenko; was dubbed The Incomparable Hildegarde by Walter Winchell (although publicist Seaman Jacobs has also been attributed to this) and was the FIRST entertainer to be known by a monogram. The Gershwins wrote songs for her, and even Revlon produced a lipstick named after her. Hildegarde was one of the first singers to perform on an amusing little experiment…television! She was also a regular on radio shows.
Although the genre began to wind down in the late 1950s, Hildegarde continued to perform and to record, right up to the age of 89, when she decided it was time to retire. Hildegarde died on July 29, 2005 in her adopted home, New York City. She was 99.
Although born a Wisconsin farm girl, Hildegarde had made NYC her home, residing in a 10 room apartment at the Plaza Hotel, and is one of the most notable New Yorkers of her time.
The trunk belonged to clients of the reseller, who decided to pass it on during a remodel in preparation for a new baby. They had purchased it at a New York City shop called The Dolls, sometime after Hildegarde’s death.
The owner of this piece along with the reseller are planning to conduct a charity auction with this item, and are seeking a qualified 501(c)(3) organization with relevance to the life and passions of Hildegarde. In the interim, the item is listed at eBay for advance viewing and to introduce it to the world.
