This watercolour shows a ballgown designed by Roger Worth, at the House of Worth, for a mannequin from the Merci Train collection made in 1948. Another sketch of the gown is E.22207-1957. The gown is very elaborate, with a enormous crinoline skirt with ruffles and a long train. As the dolls were made to one-third scale, it was possible to create such extravagant designs using a fraction of the fabric that a full size version would require.

During the Second World War, from 1940 to 1944, France was occupied by enemy German forces. Paris was liberated in August 1944. Soon afterwards, the haute couture fashion industry in Paris, which had been heavily suppressed by the Nazis, put together the first Théâtre de la Mode. This was a travelling exhibition of wire mannequins with plaster heads which were dressed in fully accessorised outfits by Paris fashion designers, milliners, shoe-, bag- and glove-makers to perfect one-third scale. The dolls were placed within elaborate stage sets and toured around Europe and North America in order to demonstrate that the Paris fashion industry had survived Nazi occupation. These designs are for the first run of the show, which opened in Paris in March 1945, and toured London, Leeds, Barcelona, Stockholm, Copenhagen and Vienna. After this, the dolls were completely re-outfitted for 1946, and sent to the United States, where they were displayed in New York and San Francisco. In 1952, the Maryhill Museum in Washington D.C. acquired the mannequins, which had been left in San Francisco after the final show, with only the jewellery returned to Paris. The Théâtre de la Mode dolls can still be seen at the Maryhill Museum.

In 1948, following the success of the Théâtre de la Mode, the Paris couture houses once again came together to create another series of dolls as part of a gift to the United States to thank them for their help in liberating Paris. The "Merci Train" or "Gratitude Train" comprised 49 railway carriages loaded with the best gifts that Paris could manufacture, from artwork to dolls and toys to clothing - with the idea that the carriages would be assigned to each individual state (with the last one shared between Hawaii and Columbia). One of the carriages contained a series of wire and plaster mannequins made along the same lines as the Théâtre de la Mode dolls and dressed to represent fashions from 1718 to 1906. Each of the 49 dolls was dressed by a different couture house or furriers, from Marcel Rochas's 1718 doll to Schiaparelli's 1906 doll. The House of Worth created the 1865 doll, which is depicted here.

In 1949 the Merci Train dolls were donated to the Brooklyn Museum, where around 42 of them still exist, unfortunately not including the Worth doll which has been lost.