Coat, blue silk
Date1790-1800
MediumSilk, linen (by microscope 10/24/2024)
DimensionsOL: 50 in.
Credit LineGift of The Valentine Museum, Richmond, VA
Object number2023-180
DescriptionMan's coat of solid deep blue ribbed silk. The coat has a high (3 to 3 3/4 inches) turn-down collar cut in one piece with the stand. The fold of the collar turndown is tacked into position. The coat front is double breasted with seven self fabric covered buttons and four functional buttonholes on each side. Two-piece sleeves are cut to curve over the elbows, ending in 2 1/2-inch stitched-down cuffs. The sleeve vents are fastened with two functional buttons. Linen pockets are reached from the outside, covered with slightly curved flaps. The coat fronts are cut across at the waist, curving down into the skirt. The back has a center-back seam extending into a skirt vent. Seams angle from the sleeves and extending into the skirt pleats. Two self-fabric covered buttons are stitched at the top rear where the skirt pleats begin; one decorative button survives on the bottom skirt pleats. Cream linen forms the pockets, sleeve linings, upper back lining and extending under the arms. The same blue ribbed silk as the face textile partially lines the coat fronts and extends down into the front skirts.Later changes: sheer silk conservation fabric reinforces the collar fold.Label TextConstructed of plain but high-quality silk, this gentleman's coat would have been part of a fashionable ensemble. The cut-across waist fronts curve gracefully down into the skirts. This style was an ancestor of the later formal "tail coat."ProvenanceDates unknown, worn by a man named Saxon (Charleston, SC); dates unknown, descended in family to mother of Wade Hamilton Boggs, Jr. (Charlotte, NC); 1979, given to Valentine Museum by wife of Wade Hamilton Boggs, Jr. (Charlotte, NC); 2023, given to Colonial Williamsburg Foundation (Williamsburg, VA)
