Linen waistcoat

Late eighteenth century Irish linen gentleman’s waistcoat, embroidered with a floral motif in gold thread. The linen lining is stamped by the white linen seal of William Henderson of county Antrim, who was either a linen draper or bleacher. It is not known if the making up and embroidery of the garment was carried out in Ireland, but the survival of the stamped linen seal is remarkable, particularly as this would only have been stamped once at the end of the length of cloth from which it was made. The piece demonstrates the common use of Irish linen for clothing before cotton began to supplant it in popularity at the end of the eighteenth century.