Coat
Date1805-1810
OriginAmerica, South Carolina
MediumCotton, plain-woven (tabby woven), partly lined with cotton, plain-woven (tabby).
DimensionsOL: 46"
Credit LineMuseum Purchase
Object number1999-74
DescriptionMan's coat of faded blue plain-woven cotton. Cut with high turn-down collar and sleeves curved over elbows, ending in buttoned cuffs. Double-breasted, cut in a curve across the front and ending in narrow tails at back. Partly lined with self-fabric and white plain-woven cotton. Metal buttons, probably replaced.Label TextCoat
Columbia, South Carolina, ca 1800
Cotton, Brass
Museum Purchase, 1999-74
(Reproduction trousers, waistcoats, and shoes)
Found near Columbia, South Carolina and possibly worn by a member of the Coleman family, this coat is a unique example of domestically woven or homespun cotton fabric. With the high stand and fall collar and lower neck line, the coat shows the new style that that men preferred at the turn on the nineteenth century. The front is cut across the body at the waist which then falls into long skirts or tails at the back. Even as fashion changed, men in the backcountry kept abreast of it through newspapers and magazines. This silhouette largely remains unchanged to this day for men’s formal attire.
ProvenancePossibly worn by member of the Coleman family who lived 20 miles from Columbia, SC. Acquired from a Civil War antiques dealer who bought in in the 1990s from an estate sale about near Columbia, South Carolina. Ex. Coll. James Kochan.
