Man’s vest, blue silk embroidered with flowers, 1850-1860, close detail of embroidery

1850-1860. Man’s vest of blue silk satin, embroidered with blue flowers, vines, and leaves.
The vest is made with four pieces: two front panels of blue silk satin and two back panels of brown polished cotton with a center-back seam. At the hem the front curves down across at the waist, and in back the panels curve up toward the center to a 2.54 cm / 1 in. high peak at the seam. The vest is single-breasted with front openings measuring 21 cm / 8.25 in. high. There are five flat buttons covered with black fabric at the opening. The vest has a deep V in front measuring 38.1 cm / 15 in. from the shoulder seam to the top of the front opening, finished with a shawl collar 8.3 cm / 3.25 in. at widest. There are two pockets on the left side and one on the right. The vest can be adjusted with a belt sewn in at the side seams in back. The entire vest is lined with a white polished cotton, with padding between the silk and the lining at the chest. Flowers, vines, and leaves are embroidered along the front hems, openings, pockets, and lapels with a two-ply silk thread matching the hue of the vest. The flowers and leaves are done in satin stitch, and the vines are done in a stem stitch. The name “H von Seeben” is written in ink on the lining of the left front panel. Machine-sewn and hand-sewn.

The Irma G. Bowen Historic Clothing Collection digital catalog was produced by the UNH Library Digital Collection Initiative, supported in part by a grant from the Mooseplate program and New Hampshire State Council on the Arts. Additional funding provided by the E. Ruth Buxton Stephenson Memorial Fund.

Photography copyright, Astrida Schaeffer.