Looking for first documented use of the term "dollar princess"

Status
Not open for further replies.
L.C. Blackwell

L.C. Blackwell

Keeper of Fort Blanket
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jun 12, 2008
Messages
2,373
Reaction score
521
Location
The Coffee Shop
Etymology Online couldn't come up with it, and the references I was able to find were pretty vague. I know the trend of dollar-princess marriages took off some time after 1874, and I know about the 1909 musical "Dollar Princess," but I'd really like to know when newspapers, or the public, started using the actual phrase.

I want to use the term as well as the concept in a short story, and I'd like to have some reasonably accurate background when I set the date. Thanks for any pointers, or answers! :)
 
lonestarlibrarian

lonestarlibrarian

senior bean supervisor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Aug 30, 2009
Messages
756
Reaction score
169
I've hunted through the 1870-1910 newspaper archives, and the first reference I see to the phrase is on Jan 25, 1908 in the Deseret Evening News--- referring to the title of the musical/play, and its success in Vienna. (Which, as you know, opened on Nov 2, 1907, as Die Dollarprinzessin, at the Theater an der Wien.) Then it proceeds to give a plot summary, and looks forward to an English adaptation's arrival in March.

So, that's not to say that it wasn't in common use before then---but it didn't seem to be a phrase used in journalism, at least. Instead, the way the newspapers seemed to have handled it was nicely illustrated by "The Herald" in 1895. The overall title is "An Important Commercial Transaction at Newport." There's a portrait of Mrs. Wm. K. Vanderbilt "--Who Has Traded Her Daughter for the Duke of Marlborough's Title." There's a portrait of the Duke of Marlborough "--Who Has Traded His Title for Mrs. Vanderbilt's Millions." And at the bottom is a portrait of-- "The Merchandise: Miss Consuelo Vanderbilt."

Ouch! :)

When they're being more polite, newspapers seemed to favor the phrase "American heiress" with the occasional "heiress-bride."
 

AW Admin

Administrator
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Apr 19, 2008
Messages
18,772
Reaction score
6,286
The musical is derived from a German operetta from 1907 Die Dollarprinzessin by Leo Fall.

The use of Dollar is a loan-word in German; this suggests the phrase pre-dates 1907.
 
L.C. Blackwell

L.C. Blackwell

Keeper of Fort Blanket
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jun 12, 2008
Messages
2,373
Reaction score
521
Location
The Coffee Shop
Helix said:
You might have some luck with Google's Ngram viewer: https://books.google.com/ngrams

After searching for the phrase, you can click on the links below the graph for usage in texts from those periods.
Click to expand...

Thanks very much, I will check that. :)

lonestarlibrarian said:
I've hunted through the 1870-1910 newspaper archives, and the first reference I see to the phrase is on Jan 25, 1908 in the Deseret Evening News--- referring to the title of the musical/play, and its success in Vienna. (Which, as you know, opened on Nov 2, 1907, as Die Dollarprinzessin, at the Theater an der Wien.) Then it proceeds to give a plot summary, and looks forward to an English adaptation's arrival in March.

So, that's not to say that it wasn't in common use before then---but it didn't seem to be a phrase used in journalism, at least. Instead, the way the newspapers seemed to have handled it was nicely illustrated by "The Herald" in 1895. The overall title is "An Important Commercial Transaction at Newport." There's a portrait of Mrs. Wm. K. Vanderbilt "--Who Has Traded Her Daughter for the Duke of Marlborough's Title." There's a portrait of the Duke of Marlborough "--Who Has Traded His Title for Mrs. Vanderbilt's Millions." And at the bottom is a portrait of-- "The Merchandise: Miss Consuelo Vanderbilt."

Ouch! :)

When they're being more polite, newspapers seemed to favor the phrase "American heiress" with the occasional "heiress-bride."
Click to expand...

Thank you--lovely of you to look up all that. I have a feeling it may have been a slang term, probably not so polite for print usage. The Vanderbilt story was really tragic, at least from the bride's point of view--I was always glad she made a happy second marriage.

AW Admin said:
The musical is derived from a German operetta from 1907 Die Dollarprinzessin by Leo Fall.

The use of Dollar is a loan-word in German; this suggests the phrase pre-dates 1907.
Click to expand...

I'm guessing it does, and I'm wondering now if I should be looking for a slang or colloquial dictionary relative to the period. I have several for the 18th century, but nothing at all for the late 19th.

Thanks all, for thoughts, suggestions, and efforts. :)
 
L.C. Blackwell

L.C. Blackwell

Keeper of Fort Blanket
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jun 12, 2008
Messages
2,373
Reaction score
521
Location
The Coffee Shop
Ooh, Ngram Viewer is interesting! Google picks up the first hit (if I read the graph correctly?) about the year 1901, and peaks at 1930, so it's rather more modern than I thought it was. Not to say that it couldn't have been in use as low-class street slang long before making it into print, however.

The only sources in print online, though, are after 1909, and the exploding use of the term--everything from dogs, to horses, to ore mines and ships, suggests that the musical was responsible for its popularity.

Thanks again!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.