Coat
Date1795-1825
OriginEngland
MediumWool broadcloth; two different glazed wool linings;tabby linen sleeve linings; uncut velvet tape of linen with wool pile; brass buttons.
DimensionsL: 45 1/2"; Chest: 39:
Credit LineMuseum Purchase
Object number1954-1032
DescriptionMan's livery coat of dark green wool trimmed with red. Coat has standing collar and straight skirt. Trimming of 7/8" wool and linen tape called livery lace, woven in uncut velvet in red, black, and gold. Trim extends around collar, down fronts, on back of skirts and on flap pockets. Fitted sleeves cut to curve over elbows, ending in cuffs 3 3/4" wide, made of scarlet wool with double row of tape and buttons. Brass buttons on front, cuffs, and skirt flaps. One button has seahorse with maltese cross under coronet and marked on back, "Hunter & Co. 98 St. Martins Lane, London". Left breast pocket inside coat; front is closed with three hooks and eyes; buttonholes are not functional. Edges of wool cloth are left raw, not hemmed. Body lined with rust-red wool; sleeves lined with linen.Construction History:
1. 1795-1825: Initial Construction
2. June 13, 1957: Cleaning, checking and restoring by Ernest LoNano.
Label TextLivery Coat
Britain, 1795-1825
Wool broadcloth trimmed with wool and linen livery lace and cast brass buttons, lined with wool and linen
1954-1032
A household servant in a British gentry family probably wore this coat. The buttons, cast with the crest from the unknown family's coat of arms, are marked "Hunter & Co., 93 St. Martins Lane, London." John Hunter was a button-seller and mercer, or textile merchant. The coat's lining of glazed worsted twill was probably called shalloon in the period.
MarkingsButtons marked" Hunter & Co,. 98 (93) St. Martins Lane, London"
ProvenanceEx Coll: Frank Moss Bennett, British history painter, see file.
