Frock coat
Category
Costume
Date
1860 - 1865
Materials
Cotton, Linen canvas, Silk, Silk taffeta, Wool
Collection
Killerton, Devon
NT 1362801
Summary
Coat; Frock coat - This coat was examined by Richard Davin on 26th July 1986, and his comments are as follows; Black cloth frock coat made of lightweight fine quality woollen (superfine, or doeskin) It is of a light construction, perhapes for summer wear or a warmer climate abroad. Frock coats were in general , not fully lined until the 1880s; this example is half lined with a light black taffeta silk, the sleeves being lined with striped cotton (faced at the cuffs with black silk) The cut of the coat includes side bodies, which date from c.1840. There are no side edges or buttons in the back pleats of the skirt of the coat. The only visable interlings are of a natural linen canvas over the foreparts from shoulder to waist and red woollen on the chest which continues to the edge of the scye on the side bodies. There is an inside pocket on the left breast, the other pockets being reached from the outside in the back pleats of the skirt of the coat. The coat hanger is original, these date from c.1830 onwards. The most noticeable features of the coat are a shallow stand and turn to the collar, a very long back seam (20 in N. to W.), five buttons on the chest, and very full sleeves. The shallow collar and full sleeves would suggest a date not before c.1858; there is no padding in the collar or the sleeve heads, which are very smoothly set in , the fullness being artfully let in by a pleat on the underside of the scye. From 1860 tp c.1865 the sleeve was very full and the waist lower and less defined; this fashion would explain the long back seam of the frock coat, which certainly has no defined waisting in cut. The five buttons on the D.B front are also typical of the lower waisted style of that date. The overall C.B length of 38 in would be fashionable too. The fact that the sleeve lining has a fine blue stripe and is of cotton - rather than the plain white linen typical of the earlier part of the nineteenth century - would also suit the suggested dating. 1860 - 1865 (circa)