Man’s vest, brown velveteen embroidered with flowers, 1830-1860, front view

1830-1860. Man’s vest of brown velveteen, machine-embroidered with pink flowers and green leaves.
The vest is made with three pieces: two front panels of velveteen, and one back panel of brown polished cotton. At the hem the front dips in a rounded point at the waist, and in back the panels curve up toward the center to a 1.3 cm / 0.5 in. high peak at the seam. The vest is single-breasted with front openings measuring 35.6 cm / 14 in. high. There are five thread-covered buttons at the opening. The vest has a short V in front measuring 22.9 cm / 9 in. from the shoulder seam to the top of the front opening, finished with a shawl collar 5.1 cm / 2 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 white polished cotton, with light padding between the velvet and the lining at the chest.

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.