Coat
Date1760-1780
OriginEngland or Europe
MediumSilk cut and voided velvet; buttons of silver plate and bullion made of metal wrapped over silk core; tabby linen sleeve lining; silk satin lining in body except sleeves; tabby bast fiber inner lining down fronts; tabby linen pockets; silk sewing thread; cotton fiber chest padding; white cotton and brown cotton patching threads.
DimensionsOL: 41" Shoulder width 11-12" ; buttons 1 1/6" diameter.
Credit LineAcquired by Bargain/Sale from Diane S. Taylor
Object number1992-37,1
DescriptionCoat to man's three-piece suit with waistcoat and breeches of silk cut and uncut voided velvet, woven with orange, yellow, green and black sprigs on yellowish-beige ground. Coat is collarless, opening down curved front with 10 one-inch silver and bullion buttons, cut buttonholes, and three hooks and eyes. Curved arms ending in 5" cuffs trimmed with 3 buttons each. Wide pocket flaps, each trimmed with 3 buttons sewn beneath, and covering deep functional pockets. Deep side pleats, (with missing material used for patches elsewhere on coat) . Center back pleat topped with button. Narrow shoulders. Lining of cream satin; linen innerlining. Padding in chest.Label TextAccording to family history, a twentieth-century customer gave this suit to his tailor to settle an unpaid bill. Said to be worn by "a Virginia gentleman," the suit is made of spotted silk velvet.
ProvenanceAccording to donor, the suit was "made in England of French fabric for a Virginia gentleman...It was given to my father by a customer of his men's clothing store who was unable to pay her bill. May father gave it to me in 1981 a number of years after his store was closed."
