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The Lore, The
Lure, The Legend
All variety of fact and fiction surrounds the
origin of "Tuxedo" and the elegant garment
that bears its name.
It is said, for example, that the custom of the
Algonquins was to name a place after the chief whose
tribe occupied it, and that there was sachum named
P’tauk-Seet, "the bear," who, in the
Seventeenth Century, ruled over a tract of land
including what is now known as Tuxedo Combining
P’tauk-Seet-tough, "The Home of the Bear."
Another version holds that the Indians called this
area of lakes and hills, P’tauk/Sepo, or so it was
translated phonetically by the Dutch in their initial
land grants. Since the Indians had no written
language, these are the best records available.
1754
It written records dating back to 1754, these are
references to Tuxedo Pond and later on, Tuxcito Pond,
Tuxetough, Tucksito, Tugseto, Tucsedo, Tuxedo, Texedo
and Toxedo.
The Marquis de
Chastellux, in 1780, writes it as
Duck Sider and Duck Seeder. And in histories of the
area dated 1857 and 1875, the name is corrupted to
Duck Cedar with the explanation that the region is
overgrown with cedar trees and is a favorite haunt of
wild ducks.
1852
The Lorillard family began acquiring land in the
Tuxedo area in 1800’s and by 1852, had come into
possession of most of what had been known as the
Cheescock Patent. They turned it into an elite hunting
and fishing resort - a millionaire’s haven. With a
labor force largely imported from Italy by Pierre
Lorillard, they constructed a series of homes within
the walled park in a matter of several months that
stand today as a testament to the skill of the
artesans. It was Tuxedo Park - High Society forty
miles to the northwest of New York City.
1885
As the gilt-edged society of Tuxedo Park developed
its own social schedule, some new names began to
appear. For example, there was lames Brown Potter, one
of the founders of Tuxedo Park, who was elected to
membership in the Tuxedo Club at the organizational
meeting held at Delmonicos, in New York City in
November 1885. According to the archives, Mr. Potter
was introduced to the idea of the Dinner Jacket by the
Prince of Wales, who later became Edward VII.
1886
The first Autumn Ball, held at the Tuxedo Club in
October 1886, is marked as the official first
appearance of the Dinner Jacket. Then, it is said
Griswold Lorillard and his friends started the people
attending the Ball by wearing a scarlet satin lapelled
Dinner Jacket - tail-less, while all others were
attired in the traditional white-tie and tails. And
thus was born the elegant garment forevermore to be
know as the "Tuxedo" - adapted by people
rich and poor as the symbol of celebration. Good Times
and Special Occasions; designated by the motion
picture industry as its symbol for high society, class
and elegance, and even a symbol of hope for better
days during the Depression Days of the Thirties;
defined by the tastemakers and standardbearers as the
appropriate garb for those events in an individual’s
life when only a tradition of elegance will do.
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