Images(5)

Breeches

Dateca. 1785

OriginAmerica, Virginia, Hanover County, Beaverdam

MediumNankeen cotton, linen, silk threads

DimensionsOther (Width at Waistband x Overall Length ): 17 1/4 x 27in. (43.8 x 68.6cm)

Credit LineMuseum Purchase, The Friends of Colonial Williamsburg Collections Fund

Object number2017-308

DescriptionNankeen cotton breeches, fully lined in white linen. Pocket bags are made out of the nankeen cotton. The stitching is all done in buff/yellow colored matching silk. The back of the breeches are gathered into the waistband, which also has two eyelets worked at the center back. Three buttons and buttonholes close the breeches at the center front. The corners of the pockets and of the fall button into place, but the buttons are now missing. The knees close with 4 buttons and ties. Three out of the four ties are missing, but the stitching remains to show the outline. The one remaining tie is only a fragment.
Label TextDuring the 18th century, the most common leg wear for men were breeches. Breeches covered the man from the hips to just below the knee, fitting very firmly across the thigh.

This pair of breeches was discovered in an attic of a home in Beaverdam, Hanover County, Virginia. They were worn by Charles Thompson. Born in 1742, Thompson was a large planter in both Hanover and Louisa County, Virginia. He married Anne Jerdone (1763-1794) on November 19, 1779 and they had five children.

These breeches are made from nankeen cotton and fully lined in white linen. The knees close with 4 buttons and ties. Traditionally men’s breeches typically fasten with a buckle around the knee, but this notes a change in the fashion that can be seen starting in the 1780s for men’s breeches fastening around the knee with ties rather than buckles. These breeches were probably meant to be worn specifically for summer wear.
ProvenanceOwned and worn by Charles Thompson (1743-1836), Hanover County, Virginia