Description:
Pair of epaulettes, made from metallic trim (gilded silver wound around a yellow silk core thread, woven in floating and basket-weave bindings) formed in the shape of a suspended double knot, from which hangs 2” long double twists of metallic fringe. Backed by an off-white or light yellow fulled wool. Trim is 5/8” – 2/3” wide. American, made from imported British or European materials, 1780s or 1790s. Part of a military uniform worn by Colonel Elisha Porter (1742-1796) of Hadley, Massachusetts, it is an important example of late 18th-century officer's uniform owned and worn in the Connecticut River Valley.
Label Text:
This impressive pair of epaulettes formed an important part of the Revolutionary War uniform of Colonel Elisha Porter (1742-1796) from Hadley, Massachusetts. Made from imported metallic braid that was woven in floating and basket-weave bindings, and edged in kinetic, tasseled trim, their expense and reflective properties would have clearly signaled Porter’s rank from afar. An accompanying receipt, reproduced here, suggests they were made by Boston, Massachusetts, tailor Joseph Billings for £1, 16sh, or about $300 in today’s currency.
Subjects:
Textile fabrics; Silk; Wool Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+2017.30.8 |
