"Castellanos"

"Castellanos" or Königin Luise (Louise) von Preussen * 1776-1810

Some time ago Judy Hill (avid collector/paper dealer) asked me if I knew whom the lady in the Castellanos label was. At the time I didn't have a clue. Shortly after, she found a very early label on ribbed paper from L. E. Neuman that was similar, titled Queen of Queens. Still no clue. Both of us had seen this woman's image before with and without the scarf and not on a cigar label. We speculated that she had a problem with her neck and wore a scarf to cover-up the imperfection. Finally, by luck, Judy found a one page article in one of those old magazines (that she has boxes and boxes of everywhere), it was about a piece of rare Reinhold porcelain with (you guessed it) the 'Scarf Lady' but with a name...Queen Louise.

(L. E. Neuman inner)
The daughter of Prince Charles Louis Frederick of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and Princess Frederica Caroline Louise of Hesse-Darmstadt...Augusta Wilhelmina Louise was destined to become Queen of Prussia.
Just after her 17th birthday, Louise and her sister, Frederica, were introduced to King Frederick William II, who was looking for wives for his two sons. To make a long story shorter, Louise married the older son (who happened to be the Crown Prince of Prussia) and her younger sister married the younger brother. Frederick William III (Louise's husband) became King of Prussia 4 years later.

(G. Merz & Son outer)
Ok, here is the part about the scarf:
For a short time after Louise's marriage and subsequent arrival in Prussia there was a slight swelling of the upper part of her neck (Judy believes it was a goiter), which she concealed with a gauze scarf. This became very fashionable and soon every lady in Berlin was swathed to the chin. By the time she became Queen the swelling had disappeared but the style she had inspired continued.

Queen Louise was considered one of the great beauties of her time. Portrait painter Madame Vigee Le Brun itemized Louise's features: "her eyes, her hair, her arms, the proportions of her body...all perfect". Many said the effect she produced was due less to symmetry than to the conscious effort she made to reach out and touch the hearts of her audience. Even her worst enemy, Napoleon, would refer to Louise as "his beautiful enemy" (that didn't stop Napy from defeating the Prussians).

Thanks Judy for your persistence in wanting to find out whom the 'Scarf Lady' was...

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