52nd Annual Delaware Show

“STAND FAST IN THE LIBERTY”: A RARE WAISTCOAT BELT BY MATTHEW SKIC On September 6, 1776, Peter, a slave from Salem County, New Jersey, ran away from his master’s property wearing “a white jacket with a belt before.” Charles Sherry, a convict servant, escaped from William Scott of Dumfries, Virginia, on February 7, 1777, wearing “a greenish coloured coat and jacket, with a belt round the bottom of his jacket.” On November 29, 1781, Jesse Vickars broke out of jail in Newtown, Pennsylvania, wearing “a red belted waistcoat.” These excerpts from newspaper advertisements describe a specific type of man’s garment known during the late eighteenth century as a belted waistcoat or belted jacket, which comprises a waistcoat body, cut square at the bottom, and a matching, detachable belt fastened to buttons on the waistcoat and worn around the belly. Evidence of belted waistcoats exists not only in descriptions of runaways dating to the late eighteenth century but also in uniform prescriptions of the Continental Army during the American War for Independence and in paintings of the period. Previous to this study, however, no belted waistcoats or corresponding belts were known to survive in American museum collections. The printed linen band purchased by Winterthur at the 2014 Delaware Antiques Show may be the first identified material evidence of such a garment (fig. 1) . 1 Not knowing the specific purpose of the band at the time of purchase, the museum acquired the piece with the intention of conducting further research. The previous owner, Sumpter Priddy III, thought that the textile might be a “stock” that buttoned around a man’s shirt collar. Winterthur’s Senior Curator of Textiles Linda Eaton suggested that it might be an armband. My conclusion—that this band is a belt for a waistcoat—emerged following a conversation with Alden O’Brien at the Daughters of the American Revolution Museum and a review of the textile’s size and six buttonholes. O’Brien encouraged me to think about a man’s waist in relation to the dimensions of the band. 2 At 17.5 inches, the length corresponds to half of a 35-inch waist, a practical size for an adult male. This consideration led Fig. 1. Belt for a waistcoat, linen, 1770–1800. Museum purchase with funds drawn from the Centenary Fund 2013.38 — 158 —