This fan is one of three of very similar design, each bearing the names of their original owners on the front guard. These were the three daughters of King Christian IX of Denmark (reg.1863-1906): Alexandra, Minny (christened Dagmar) and Thyra. As the first two fans include the coats of arms of both Denmark and the countries into which the two princesses married (Great Britain and Russia), they must post-date their weddings, respectively in March 1863 and November 1866. The third sister, Thyra, was born in 1853, and married in 1878; her fan includes only the Danish royal arms.

The fans are typical products of the Viennese fan industry of the period. Superb fans were already produced in Vienna in the eighteenth century. However, early in the nineteenth century new types of brisé fans began to overwhelm the previously traditional output. These fans were initially made of wood, then leather-covered wood, then (as here) leather-covered board. The feather fans which enjoyed such a vogue at the end of the century emerged from this earlier fashion. The Viennese fan-makers were second only to their Parisian counterparts in the quality and quantity of their goods. Viennese fans were widely available, both throughout the Austro-Hungarian Empire and elsewhere. There were five agents for Viennese fans in Paris in 1900.

The surviving box of Princess Thyra’s fan bears the trade label of Gebrüder Rodeck of Vienna, who were almost certainly also the suppliers of the fans for Princesses Alexandra and Minny.

Text adapted from Unfolding Pictures: Fans in the Royal Collection 2005