The Deveraux family were among the most important members of 1920s San Francisco society, and the wedding of their daughter Eleanor to banker Alexander Allen would be the highlight of the 1929 social calendar. In the years that followed, the Deveraux lived through periods of huge social and political change. What helped to unite them was the beautiful wedding dress, first worn by Eleanor, which remained a family heirloom. A family desperate to survive the turmoil and changing fortunes of the times.