Waistcoat thumbnail 1
Waistcoat thumbnail 2
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Not on display

Waistcoat

1770s (made), 1780-85 (altered)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

A man's waistcoat with round neckline, curving fronts and skirts reaching to the top of the thigh. Each front has a pocket and a shaped pocket flap. The fronts are made of black silk satin, the backs of black glazed worsted twill. The waistcoat is lined with unbleached fustian; the fronts are faced and the skirts lined with black glazed worsted twill. There are 13 worked buttonholes along the left front; there were 13 corresponding black silk thread-covered buttons along the right front (top button now missing).

The waistcoat was altered to update the style, probably during the early 1780s; the shaped pocket flap was unpicked and sewn upside down, in the manner of a welt. It was also altered for size; insertions of linen and black glazed worsted twill were made at the side and centre back seams.

Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Silk, wool, linen; hand-woven, hand-sewn.
Brief description
Man's waistcoat, Great Britain, 1770s; black silk satin and black glazed worsted, altered 1780-1785.
Physical description
A man's waistcoat with round neckline, curving fronts and skirts reaching to the top of the thigh. Each front has a pocket and a shaped pocket flap. The fronts are made of black silk satin, the backs of black glazed worsted twill. The waistcoat is lined with unbleached fustian; the fronts are faced and the skirts lined with black glazed worsted twill. There are 13 worked buttonholes along the left front; there were 13 corresponding black silk thread-covered buttons along the right front (top button now missing).

The waistcoat was altered to update the style, probably during the early 1780s; the shaped pocket flap was unpicked and sewn upside down, in the manner of a welt. It was also altered for size; insertions of linen and black glazed worsted twill were made at the side and centre back seams.

Dimensions
  • Right shoulder to hem length: 80.4cm (approx)
  • Chest under armholes circumference: 128.0cm (approx)
Credit line
Part of the Gorst collection, given by Mrs Katherine Rachael Thomas
Collection
Accession number
CIRC.124-1963

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Record createdJune 24, 2009
Record URL
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