Shooting jacket

This man’s jacket was clearly designed for shooting. Four buttons depicting popular outdoor pursuits such as deer-stalking fasten the front. One of the centre back buttons shows a pair of hounds.

The flapped breast pockets might have held cartridges or a powder flask. The large pockets in the waist-seam might have held percussion caps. Placed across the inside skirt are two capacious pockets known as ‘poachers’ or ‘hare’ pockets as they were large enough to carry dead game. The Tailor and Cutter (7 August 1869) reported that many gentlemen objected to too many pockets. They preferred to carry their necessaries in a small bag on their back and an ammunition pouch fastened to a small waist-belt. A well-cut pair of knickerbockers, gaiters and hat would have completed the outfit.