Textile: Charles Dickens' wool coat with quilted lining
circa 1855 – 1865 (Date manufactured/created)
garment
wool, silk, possibly cotton, mix fiber cloth
Black wool overcoat with an elaborately quilted silk lining, owned by Charles Dickens (1812 - 1870). At least three portrait photographs of Dickens taken by Jeremiah Gurney (studio in New York City) shows him wearing this coat, and Thomas Nast subsequently did a caricature cartoon of Dickens from one of those photographs which shows the coat. The coat appears to date from about the late 1850s to the mid-1860s, most likely made between 1860 and 1867. The coat would have been worn in cold weather seasons as an overcoat, worn over a suit as is shown in the Gurney photographs. It is not a particularly heavy nor thick coat, and does not have a high collar to protect from wind and rain or snow. The overall silhouette is triangular, with the body and sleeves flaring out toward the bottom. The coat is double-breasted and there is evidence of eight buttons, but only two remain, made with black silk thread worked into a fine checkerboard pattern. The length of the coat (40 inches from center back neck to lower edge) is moderate, not long. The garment is in poor condition almost certainly due to light damage from constant display in the museum (during the Barnum Institute years), not due to excessive wear by the owner. The missing buttons may have been pulled off by museum visitors as "keepsakes." The black wool now appears rather greenish in some areas such as the front of the coat and portions of the sleeves where light has faded the dye color. The black silk twill lining material is also faded to a brownish color, and it is very fragile. The areas of loss, which are considerable, reveal the interior materials of batting and an open-weave backing cloth that has a wool weft and a linen or cotton warp. The batting may be wool or cotton. The areas of quilting near the front opening edges of the coat are beautifully stitched in a scrolled feather-like pattern set in vertical line. The design is worked to the space, stitched with smaller or larger elements as needed. The interior of the coat back and portions of the front are quilted in a small grid, pattern. The sleeves are quilted in a small diamond pattern. The sleeves are unusually wide, flaring toward the wrist (slightly over 12 inches wide) however this look is consistent with women's sleeve fashions of the period in the late 1850s to mid-1860s. The portrait photographs show Dickens wearing the sleeves with the lower few inches turned up, like deep cuffs. The edges of the garment are bound in woven tape rather than hemmed, which reduces bulk and keeps the edges flat. The collar is a flat collar (no neckband to make it stand up) and has rounded corners at the front. The coat may have been sewn entirely by hand, although it is possible the long seams were machine sewn. All areas examined appear to have been hand-sewn.
Per a typewritten file card, Dickens' coat was gifted by George W. Childs to P. T. Barnum, at what date is unknown. Childs was a friend of Dickens and stayed at his home in England from time to time, but as Childs was much younger than Dickens, he would not likely have met him when Dickens first came to America in the 1840s. The information we have is that Childs was given the coat by Dickens "following Nov. 1867" which would mean during Dickens' second (and final) visit to the U.S. This visit to America took place between November 1867 and April 1868. Another note in the museum's records states: "Overcoat which belonged to Charles Dickens and was worn by him during a visit to Mr. George W. Childs. He gave it to Mr. Childs and Mr. Childs to Mr. P.T. Barnum, who presented it to the Bridgeport Historical Society." A record of the gift is included in a large ledger book that records early donations to the Barnum Institute. According to that record, Mrs. P. T. Barnum donated it in July of 1895, which would be after her husband's death, therefore the other notes of Barnum himself donating it are not accurate. Childs (1829 - 1894), a Baltimore native who spent most of his life in Philadelphia, was quite well known in his day, a marketing genius in the field of publishing, who also became co-owner (along with Anthony Drexel) of the Philadelphia Public Ledger newspaper. He turned around the failing paper during the Civil War, and became extremely wealthy. That Childs and Barnum knew one another makes sense given their shared interests, however it is unknown at this time exactly how they knew one another. In many ways, their philanthropy and desire to improve the cities where they lived suggests they had rather similar outlooks and personalities, and embarked upon similar projects. The reason for Dickens leaving his coat with Childs is also unknown. It may simply have been that he was replacing the coat and did not wish to take the old one with him. However, it is also true that Dickens was phenomenally popular during his second visit, to the point that some people went crazy, clawing at him to get scraps of his clothing as souvenirs. Given that Barnum's second American Museum burned (March 3, 1868) during the time Dickens was in New York, perhaps there was a thought that the coat would make an interesting and popular curiosity for Barnum to display, assuming he would open a museum for the third time, which he did not. Whether that was the reason for gifting the coat to Childs who then gave it to Barnum is unknown and probably never will be ascertained, but it stands as a reasonable explanation.
Per a typewritten file card, Dickens' coat was gifted by George W. Childs to P. T. Barnum, at what date is unknown. Childs was a friend of Dickens and stayed at his home in England from time to time, but as Childs was much younger than Dickens, he would not likely have met him when Dickens first came to America in the 1840s. The information we have is that Childs was given the coat by Dickens "following Nov. 1867" which would mean during Dickens' second (and final) visit to the U.S. This visit to America took place between November 1867 and April 1868. Another note in the museum's records states: "Overcoat which belonged to Charles Dickens and was worn by him during a visit to Mr. George W. Childs. He gave it to Mr. Childs and Mr. Childs to Mr. P.T. Barnum, who presented it to the Bridgeport Historical Society." A record of the gift is included in a large ledger book that records early donations to the Barnum Institute. According to that record, Mrs. P. T. Barnum donated it in July of 1895, which would be after her husband's death, therefore the other notes of Barnum himself donating it are not accurate. Childs (1829 - 1894), a Baltimore native who spent most of his life in Philadelphia, was quite well known in his day, a marketing genius in the field of publishing, who also became co-owner (along with Anthony Drexel) of the Philadelphia Public Ledger newspaper. He turned around the failing paper during the Civil War, and became extremely wealthy. That Childs and Barnum knew one another makes sense given their shared interests, however it is unknown at this time exactly how they knew one another. In many ways, their philanthropy and desire to improve the cities where they lived suggests they had rather similar outlooks and personalities, and embarked upon similar projects. The reason for Dickens leaving his coat with Childs is also unknown. It may simply have been that he was replacing the coat and did not wish to take the old one with him. However, it is also true that Dickens was phenomenally popular during his second visit, to the point that some people went crazy, clawing at him to get scraps of his clothing as souvenirs. Given that Barnum's second American Museum burned (March 3, 1868) during the time Dickens was in New York, perhaps there was a thought that the coat would make an interesting and popular curiosity for Barnum to display, assuming he would open a museum for the third time, which he did not. Whether that was the reason for gifting the coat to Childs who then gave it to Barnum is unknown and probably never will be ascertained, but it stands as a reasonable explanation.
Gift of Nancy Fish Barnum
1895.011.001