Coat
Dateca. 1770
OriginAmerica, New England
MediumWool plain weave fulled and napped "broadcloth"; twill worsted "shalloon" lining; tabby linen lining center back. Pocket flap lined with twill worsted; sleeves lined with tabby linen; right lower pocket is linen; left pocket is leather; inside pocket on left breast is linen, with broadcloth welt.
DimensionsOL: 39"; Shoulder width: 12 3/4"
Credit LineMuseum Purchase
Object number1953-59
DescriptionMan's coat of red wool cloth (plain-woven wool, fulled, napped, and shorn). Coat has two-piece single-layer collar applied and stitched down at neckline; collar width 1 1/2 inches. Fronts curve back toward hem in gradual cutaway. Fronts and hems of cloth are cut edges, not turned under. Ten pale yellow corded buttonholes worked down left front are not cut open. Ten gilt bronze metal shank buttons stitched to right front (covered by red wool cloth during the period from 1954 to 2004). Button backs read "H. Sandland/ Superfine". Shaped pocket flaps cover functional pockets. Right pocket is linen; left pocket is chamois. Close-fitting two-piece sleeves are cut to curve over elbows. Sleeves end in unlined turn-back cuffs. Coat is flared with pleats at the hips. Red silk thread buttons top pleats and decorate inner pleats (covered with red cloth from 1954 to 2004). Back overlapped vent opening. Breast pocket on left front interior of coat. Pocket is linen; welt is yellow wool cloth. Coat fronts and skirts are lined with pale yellow twill glazed worsted (shalloon). Coat center back and sleeves are lined with plain-woven linen.Construction History:
1. ca. 1770: Initial construction
2. February 17, 1954: Cleaning, repairing, restoring by Ernest LoNano for Margaret Hunter Shop
ProvenanceSaid to have belonged to Amos King, 3rd, "Major of the fifth Regiment of Infantry, in the first Brigade and second Division of the Militia" from Massachusetts. Information from resignation paper dated May 3, 1817, originally pinned to the coat. This may be the son of the original wearer of the coat.
