18th Century Men’s Cloaks
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Rare 18th century men's layered wool riding cloak with velvet collar; notes mention “long falling wool cape topped with a shorter layer cape, cording around the neckline. The thick collar is hand quilted covered on the top in velvet. The interior is lined in a thin silk and wool blend. The top layer has a finished off seam, the bottom layer was never finished. The underside of the wool is in a greenish hue, outside is in a black-green color with a wine-colored velvet trimming the collar.”
Historic New England 1923.776, “blue wool and silk men’s full length cape with brown velvet collar; wool lined opening for arms; cartridge pleats”
RCIN 31955, General Wolfe’s field coat, c. 1727-1759; “Dark green full length cloak of green serge lined with red serge, with wide collar and detachable hood.”
Monmouth County Historical Association 1999.572, heavy brown worsted wool riding cloak with a dark blue quilted velvet padded collar, made in New Jersey c. 1750-1790
Massachusetts Historical Society 0842, a cloak belonging to Peter Oliver; “Superfine wool, covered wood buttons, linen thread … Befitting an eminent, fashion-conscious Tory, Oliver likely imported this example from England,” c. 1770
Colonial Williamsburg 1956-213,1, New England, c. 1775-1790; “Cloak with cape collar constructed of red heavy wool cloth woven in tabby weave, fulled (deliberately shrunk), napped, and shorn. Cloak is cut circular and very full; the neck, slightly gathered, is finished with a 8 7/8" deep cape and two 5" wide rolled collars (all with cut and unfinished edges), held closed with three large black hooks and eyes (later replacements). Sewn with silk thread. Thread remnants around cape, collar, and front edges suggest that cloak once was finished or bound with an edging.”
See Costume Close-Up for a pattern based on this cloak.
Met C.I.40.173.10, late 18th century, probably Italian
HU4001 (front and back), the cloak of General Artemas Ward, late 18th century
Samuel White’s cloak (also here?)
John McInnis Auctioneers Mar 9 2018, Lot 158, a layered wool riding cloak, c. 1790-1800; “Fully hand stitched woolen cloak with, bone buttons and lined in flax inner and outer layers. Very well done from New Hampshire. 43 x 27 inches.”
Massachusetts Historical Society 1012, a cloak belonging to Henry Bromfield, “the last gentleman in Boston to cling to old fashioned styles of the 18th century. The cloak is made of crimson superfine wool from England, with workmanship probably of Boston, 1790-1810. The cloak has a collar band with red satin ribbon to tie the cape closed.”
Le Manteau.
Garsault provides a pattern and description for a man’s cloak in Art du tailleur (1769).
Fig I, Plate 10, shows the pattern for the French Cloak; it is quite old among us; this is perhaps the reason why it has gone out of fashion, and at the same time the reason why it will come back into fashion; for it is very good for protecting against the cold, both on foot and on horseback.
It is always made, for an average size, from four aunes of wool, usually scarlet wool; it will extend three to four pouces beyond the coat. To cut it, the cloth is not folded, but spread out to its full width; then two centers a a are marked, one on one side in the second aune, the other on the other side in the third aune; from each center, draw a semicircle, the two semicircles, whose diameter will be about one and a quarter aunes, should meet in the middle of the fabric at d; cut around each center a small semicircle with a diameter of about a quarter of an aune for the neck opening; hh will be the two halves of the collar or cape: two pieces sufficient to line the front upper section will be cut from the leftover fabric.
The waste is indeed considerable in a piece of fabric four-thirds of an aune wide; but in a piece one aune wide, the seams could not be avoided, since it would be necessary to use extra pieces to complete the semicircles.
Fig. PP [sic], Plate 3 shows a Frenchman wrapped in his cloak.
La Roquelaure.
Garsault’s pattern and instructions for a roquelaure. Most of the men’s cloaks linked above are shaped like flat semicircles, but a roquelaure is curved at the sides and has buttons at the front. This is similar to the cloaks of Timothy Fellows, Artemas Ward, Peter Oliver, and Samuel White.
Fig. 1 shows the pattern pieces for the Roquelaure, a kind of cloak … It’s a very practical garment for traveling on horseback; it has a few buttons and buttonholes near the top; it’s usually made of wool …
A, the two front pieces.
B, the two back pieces.
C, the two front gores.
D, the two back gores.
E, the two pieces of the collar.