Susan Stafford Kelly, “Dolley Madison’s Red Velvet Dress is Our Scarlet Mystery,” Our State magazine

“Beyond those hints, a selvage line indicates the fabric’s origin of manufacture — France — which is also the origin point for the draperies Dolley had made for the White House.

‘There is no silk damask to be had in either New York or Philadelphia, and I am therefore forced to give you crimson velvet curtains. Architect Benjamin Latrobe to Dolley, 1809.’”