Tail coat
- Place of origin:
Kent, England (worn)
- Date:
1890-1910 (made)
- Artist/Maker:
Unknown (production)
- Materials and Techniques:
Fine wool trimmed with silk and velvet, decorated with engraved brass buttons
- Credit Line:
Given by Lord Cornwallis
- Museum number:
T.16-2006
- Gallery location:
In Storage
This cricket club coat is a good example of men’s sports-related clothing of the late 19th century. It is cut in the fashionable tail-coat style, with a square cut front and divided back waist to create the typical ‘swallowtail’ ends. This coat would have been worn for evening dress at hunt balls and annual dinners rather than for playing the sport itself.
The initials ‘BB’ are emblazoned on the gleaming buttons. These stand for Band of Brothers. This was the name of the Kent cricket club the donor's father (the original wearer) belonged to. He captained Kent Cricket Club between 1924 and 1926 and wore the coat to formal dress occasions together with a white tie and waistcoat.
