Tiny details

This week I was doing some research with the South Somerset Heritage Collection, into some garments they own. They are from the eighteenth century, and belonged to Swayne Harbin (1718-1781).

Harbin was a moderately wealthy man, graduate of Corpus Christi (Oxon), and heir to the house Newton Surmaville. The house remained in the Harbin family home for 399 years, across more than ten generations. Following the death of Sophie Rawlins (née Sophie Wyndham Bates Harbin) it was finally auctioned in 2007. Several years earlier, Mrs Rawlins donated the clothing to the collection.

Old items like this always raise questions. Why these garments? Why did they survive, when others did not? The story is that this green coat was worn Swayne at his wedding.

That would date it to 1760, as Harbin married late (at 42). It’s corduroy, with sprays of flowers embroidered. These elements lead us to further clues about where and when it was made. Corduroy was largely produced in Manchester, and reached its high point in fashionability towards the end of the eighteenth century (into the nineteenth century it became more widely produced making it more affordable. As a durable fabric it was widely adopted for working men’s clothing).

The embroidered flowers would have been made with silk thread, and England had been known for its embroidery since the medieval period. The bright green color, with the floral decoration are appropriate for a wedding. I tried to learn more about the flowers, but while one may be a white thistle I didn’t get a conclusive answer on the other (I spent ages looking at plant photos!). But the embroidery itself also helps date it, as described here, floral designs of this period became more delicate and stylised.

The coat shows signs of mending, so was probably worn over years.

With the coat there is also a waistcoat (whether they were worn together is unknown). It’s a sleeved waistcoat (something that disappeared in men’s fashion by the nineteenth century). Made of violet satin silk on the front and navy slub silk on the sleeves and back, and lined with plain cotton. It was cut to fit close to the body, with cotton armpit gussets for movement. From the plain sleeves and plain short back, it is designed to be worn under another coat so that only the decorative cuffs and front would be seen.

At this time, production in silk in Britain was predominantly in the Spitalfields area of London, where the industry had developed since the arrival of Huguenot silk weavers. The Huguenots had fled France in the late seventeenth century, and brought their textile skills to England. What makes this waistcoat distinctive is the extensive use of gold lace. Metallic threads and lace would now be artificial, but then were made entirely from very finely spun thread of actual gold, meaning this would have been very expensive trim.

I found an example of a very similar waistcoat, also from 1760, which is part of a 3 piece suit. It may be that the waistcoat in the collection was originally part of such an outfit. Could they have come from the same tailor? It’s possible, but at this stage we’ll never know.

I looked up Swayne Harbin’s will at the National Archives, but couldn’t find specific reference to the clothing, which isn’t really surprising. He had extensive real estate, a single coat would not have been among his most valued possessions. But he kept it. And his descendants kept it. So it meant something to them. Perhaps by the mid-nineteenth century it was in the dress-up box of younger family members, or perhaps it was in a camphor-lined attic chest, largely fogotten.

What else I’ve been up to:

Today I was reading this cool piece from Snack Stack on why honey comes in bear shaped squeezy bottles.

I also published my first bemused note on Substack Notes, please come and say hi.

I will probably use it for things that don’t fit in the newsletter, or quick questions.

---

---