Object Record
Images
Additional Images [1]
Metadata
Catalog Number |
2015.04.01 |
Object Name |
Coat |
Date |
c. 1875 |
Year Range from |
1870 |
Year Range to |
1880 |
Features |
Child's coat, collared. Made from dark blue velvet with looped braid decorating all edges and hems. Lined with a white woven cotton material. |
Object Story |
The coat belonged to Robert James Magee as a young child. Robert was born approximately in 1891 to John Magee and Margaret E Lawson, in Petrolia Ontario. Robert was the eldest of the families 6 children. His younger siblings were Hattie G (b. 1892), Marion (b. 1894), Edna A (b. 1895), Jessie H (b. 1897), and Margaret M (b. 1899). As of 1901 the family resided in South Fredericksburg. Robert would go on to marry Cora Debra White September 11, 1912. They would have 7 children. Throughout his life Robert was a farmer. He also was a council member as well as a member of the school board. He would be a delegate at many Liberal Party conventions. Robert passed away in the County of Lennox and Addington in 1978 at the age of 87. This coat is a combination of several styles for children's clothing in the late Victorian era. It is velvet like the very popular Little Lord Fauntleroy outfit. However it is cut to a similar length as the sailor costumes, with similar decoration such as the decorative blue looped braiding. Velvet is set apart from other material by its pile which is dense and evenly distributed. A pile is the loops that sit proud of the base fabric. Though traditionally made out of silk, velvet can be made out of any fabric as the term "velvet" refers to the structure of the woven fabric and not the composition of the fabric itself. Due to its complexity to weave velvet was very expensive and usually only possessed by the nobility. However, thanks to the industrial revolution the weaving process became easier and quicker resulting in a drop in the price of velvet allowing it to become available to the middle class for the first time. As this artifact is post industrial revolution it is unknown whether it is handmade or machine made. |
People |
Magee, Robert James Magee, John Magee, Hattie G Maggee, Maggie Lawson Magee, Edna A Magee, Jessie H Magee, Margaret M Magee, Marion I, 1894- |
Subjects |
Fashion Children Velvet |
Search Terms |
Fashion 1890s |