~ Early 20th New Style Velvet Court Dress Set ~
Here we have a very personal set. This is the entire court uniform of a member of the British Diplomatic Corps with its original travel case, bill of sale and a picture of the owner, a Mr Michael Lloyd Furrer.
The court dress consists of one court coat, one pair of britches, a pair of stockings, one boxed set of buckles, one bicorn hat and one court sword.
The court coat is deep blue velvet with a padded cotton lining. The buttons are re silvered and in a geometric pattern. The jacket has two false pockets over the tails.
The britches are deep blue velvet with a satin or satin like liner. The buttons are Bakelite or cellulose plastic with ‘E. George, 87 Regents Street’ embossed.
The bicorn is very elaborate with two bands of black ribbon and a braid of silvered decorations on the side.
The box contains all four buckles for affixing the uniform.
The court sword is a ceremonial dress sword, a smallsword by design with a triform blade that’s heavily decorated with frost etching and a guard embedded with stones. The sword has a peened construction. The sword has blunt edges and is ceremonial for display purposes only.
The sword comes with a leather scabbard with silver fittings and a velvet frog.
The sword was made in Germany and has a blade was made by the famous Solingen maker WKC as denoted by the leftwards facing knights stamp..
The travel case is the original the court dress was purchased with and comes with the name of the owner ‘M. Ll. Furrer Esq’ engraved on a plaque on the lid. The bill of sale is on the inside of the box’s lid, marked 1902 with a note in red pen referencing an occasion in 1899. The entire set in 1902 cost just over £27.
The picture that comes with the set is of the owner Michael Lloyd Furrer, it’s dated 1897 and was taken in Dublin with a small note by the gentleman’s granddaughter.
~ Dimensions ~
The set weighs 10.88 Kg.
The case weighs 9.07 Kg.
The case is 40 inches (101.5 cm) long.
The case is 13 inches (33 cm) wide.
The case is 7.5 inches (19 cm) deep.
The jacket is 17.5 inches (44.5 cm) wide at the armpit.
The jacket is 41 inches (104 cm) from collar to tail.
The jacket is 24 inches (61 cm) down the outer sleeve.
The britches are 17 inches (43 cm) at the waist.
The britches are 31 inches (79 cm) long down the leg.
The bicorn is 18 inches (46 cm) from tip to tip.
The sword weighs 555 g.
The blade length is 30.5 inches (77.5 cm) long.
The sword is 37.5 inches (95.25 cm) long.
The guard is 4 inches (10 cm) across.
The sword in its scabbard is 38.25 inches (97.2 cm) long.
~ Condition ~
The set overall is in very good condition for something over a century old.
The sword has slight surface rust at the guard and pommel.
The box’s inner paint, seal and outer finish has worn.
The bicorn has a section of wear towards one end.