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CIVIL WAR US NAVY OFFICER’S
UNIFORM – IDENTIFIED COMPLETE MATCHED SET - CUSTOM MADE
DOUBLE BREASTED FROCK COAT & TROUSERS – BEAUTIFUL EARLY
US NAVY UNIFORM:
A very rare offering,
this identified Civil War US Navy Officer’s uniform set
is styled as the one shown on page 91 of Blue Jackets
– Uniforms of the U.S. Navy of the Civil War Period
1852-1865 by Ron Field, and described as a US Navy
undress uniform styled in accordance with the Naval
Regulations of July 31, 1862. A
complete set of a double breasted frock coat and
matching trousers, this uniform incorporates a number of
very desirable features, including the officer’s name –
“Corning” – written on the trouser label.
As with the officers of the US Army, US Navy officers
were expected, and required, to furnish their own
uniforms at their own expense. However, unlike their
land locked brethren in the army, the naval officers had
the opportunity to avail themselves of the services of
tailors throughout the world while on lengthy
deployments overseas. Tailors in such faraway places as
Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore, Manila, Cape Town,
Liverpool, Barcelona, Naples and thousands of ports of
call, large and small, across the globe enjoyed the
patronage of naval officers from all the navies of the
world, and its is likely each officer had his
favorites.
Such is the case with this uniform, bearing the maker’s
tags of the Dalbera Brothers tailor shop in the
Mediterranean coastal city of Nice, France. Obviously
custom made using a fine grade of dark blue polished
wool broadcloth, this uniform included special touches
and features that speak to the officer’s sense of style,
and his ability to pay.
The body of the coat is fully
lined with black satin and the sleeves are fully lined
with white pin striped polished cotton cloth.
The placket is fitted with
button holes on each side of the front opening, allowing
the coat to be buttoned either left over right, or right
over left – a feature significant to a naval uniform of
this period. It was not particularly unusual for a
naval officer to suffer a incapacitating wound to, or
lose, one of his arms in an accident or in an
engagement. So, the option of buttoning his coat in
either direction would allow him to use whichever hand
was still functional - a grim, but very practical
consideration in the design of the coat.
The double pleated split
tail of the coat is very nicely executed, with two deep
slash pockets – one in each of the two rear tail pieces
– that are accessed by a finished vent in the edge of
the seam. The coat measures
39” long from the top of
the collar to the bottom hem.
All of the buttons on the double
breasted front bear the seal of the United States Navy,
and are maker marked “A. M. C. PARIS”, not surprising
since the uniform was made by a tailor in Nice. All the
buttons are present and all of them are full form with
no depressions or other damage.
This frock coat is in excellent
condition with the dark blue wool material retaining its
strength and integrity, and all of the seams are
intact. The lining in the body of the coat is in very
good condition with some fairly minor wear spots in the
center of the back of the lining as can be seen below in
the photographs.
The wool is very solid with
no damage noted.
The trousers
are made of the same
material as the coat, and the waist band is lined with
the same white pin striped polished cotton cloth used to
line the sleeves of the coat. The
fly and suspender buttons
are all black hard rubber bearing the name of the tailor
“DALBERA” and the city “NICE”. The pocket buttons are
plain black hard rubber. All of the buttons, save one
suspender button on the waist, are present and intact,
and firmly attached by solid stitching.
There
are two front hip pockets and one rear pocket. The
adjustment belt across the back of the trousers is full
length and complete with the maker marked buckle. There
is a black with gold embroidery maker’s tag for the
Danbera Brothers at the rear “V” of the waist band and a
second white maker’s label on the underside of the rear
belt with the maker’s name and, written in ink, what I
believe to be the name of the Naval Officer for whom the
uniform was made. The script is a little difficult to
decipher, however it is sufficiently clear that the
officer could be identified by surveying a list of the
officers who served during, and in the years
surrounding, the Civil War. Those lists are available,
however time did not allow me to pursue that research
and I will leave it to the new owner to explore. One
other feature worth mentioning is the cut of the cuffs,
done in the dropped heel style of the period, and
reinforced on the inner surface with a narrow strip of
heavy black canvas to prevent undue wear from the
officer’s footwear - all very nicely done.
The trousers are in likewise excellent
condition with the dark blue wool material retaining its
strength and integrity, and all of the seams are
intact. The wool is very solid with no weak points.
There is one hole, approximately 1/8” in diameter low on
the right leg which appears to be a burn hole, perhaps a
cinder from the stack, or an errant cigar or pipe ash.
There is also a minor tear, approximately ˝” long where
the right front pocket buttons, but when the pocket is
closed, this is not visible and does not detract from
the appearance of the trousers.
None of the faults indicated in the
description of either piece are significant issues and
in spite of the risk of discouraging a perspective
buyer, I want to provide you with a fair and complete
description. As most of us are familiar with a time
where service personnel have a variety of uniforms
ranging from dress blues to camouflaged fatigues, its
worth pausing to remember that these 19th
Century uniforms were not a dress uniform, but instead
were the uniform and were worn at sea as
well as in the parlor, and given the nature of ship
board life, it is a wonder this uniform survived at all,
much less in this outstanding condition.
This is a very attractive Civil
War US Navy Officer’s uniform and would be a worthy
addition to any nautical collection
SOLD
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