In Joseph Badger’s portrait of John (B.53.13), the young boy has been “breeched” and is attired as an adult: body coat, waistcoat, breeches, shirt, and so forth. A small boy’s coat survives that has traditionally been associated with the portrait; it carries the note: “Coat of / John Gerry / Born 1740 / See / Picture / of / Little Grandpa.” This coat of bright rose worsted bears considerable physical evidence of being the coat in the portrait: the collarless neckline, the eight-button front closure, the flare of the skirt, the bracket- shaped pocket flaps, and the deep sleeve cuffs. Although the trim on the cuffs and pocket flaps is now missing, there is stitching evidence of its previous existence.

Technical Notes: Tabby-weave wool (exterior cloth); silk taffeta (body lining), linen (sleeve lining). Linen has also been used in the inner lining and facings and interfacings. Buckram stiffens the coattails. Wrapped silver thread worked in a star motif covers the buttons, and cream silk thread couches silver thread to outline the button holes. 

Book excerpt: David B. Warren, Michael K. Brown, Elizabeth Ann Coleman, and Emily Ballew Neff. American Decorative Arts and Paintings in the Bayou Bend Collection. Houston: Princeton Univ. Press, 1998.