Scotts Cloth, Plaid, Tarten Hose & Broadswords

1683: 4 ps. w/th "plaiding" qt. 125 yds

Of the people from the British Islands and Ireland, the Scots made up the majority of people who emigrated to New York from the 1680s - 1720s. A number of Scottish came to New York prior to the Queen Ann's Test Act of 1703  including Robert Livingston who arrived in the Town of Albany in 1674.  John Spratt and John MaxWell were two others. However, after England took Sovereign control in 1674, aside from the Governor in NYC and the New Englanders on Long Island, it was primarliy through Scottish eyes the colonist understood England. They were that numerous.

I am often asked if Scots in America wore Scottish clothes. As someone who descends from the 18th Century Mcdougalds of North Carolina I am eager to find the answer too. However, one can only dress according to what was available. What was available was often defined by demand.

For 18th Century New York, in particular, the consumers were able to influence what merchants ordered, as they would completely snub something that was not culturally acceptable... like small sprigs of flowered cloth. The prerogative of New Yorkers were big bodacious flowers to the point that merchants returned the small sprigged cloth to London explaining it wouldn't sell. One merchant went as far as to draw - again - a large mass of a flower explaining it was to scale and not to send anything smaller. The London merchants must have though New Yorkers were hopeless, but New Yorkers - for as reserved as they were in business - wore their big bodacious flowers as though a tribal marker. We will circle back to this issue later, but it provides a glimpse into just how stubborn New York consumers were through the first half of the 18th Century. It may also be why onlookers noted that it was difficult to define the difference between the wealthy and the working class, because everyone looked middle class in their large printed silks, woolens and calicos. It also meant that people of various heritages could strut their stuff in the clothing of their mother country. And people of other heritages had no qualms about adding something different normally associated with a different heritage... like tartan !


Doing The Numbers:

While an exact number of people of Scottish heritage who immigrated to New York is not known, there was one Presbyterian church by 1650, four by 1700, 35 by 1750 and 50 by 1775 spread out across the Province. To put this in perspective, there were only 0, 2, 20, and 26 Anglican churches respectively. When looking for a persona with distinct clothing, textiles and a ton of fun... check out the Scots !


 Number of Churches in the Province of New York by Denomination:

Year                                  1650    1700    1750    1775
Scot Presbyterian                1        4           35         50
Scot Calvinist                      4        0            5         12
Eng. Anglican                      0        2           20         26
Eng. Quaker                        0        8           14         22

It is estimated that about 7, 000 Scotts emigrated to an English colony in America prior to the year 1700. Between 1717 - 1775, an estimated 200,000 Scot-Irish from Ulster Co. in Northern Ireland emigrated to America.

1753: Patrick Fisher, indićted of cutting out of a loom and stealing a tartan plaid, was, at his own desire, sentenced to be transported to America, and banished Scotland for life. - Scotts Magazine

A Wave of Scottish People: 

After the English landed in 1664, then received sovereign control in 1667, Governor Dongan had a reasonable concern about the lack of immigrants from England.

Dated 1687: "I believe for these last 7 years past, there has not come over into this province twenty English Scotch or Irish families. But on the contrary on Long Island the people increase so fast that they complain for want of land and many remove from thence into the neighboring province." - Population History of New York City, By Ira Rosenwaike

While England had a difficult time getting English people to choose New York rather than New England or Pennsylvania or Virginia, the Scottish were more than happy to take the jobs that were available. They are listed as being weavers, cart drivers, and in other trades and labors.

NewEngland, Philadelphia and Virginia were more appealing to the English in part because an immigrant's new neighbors would have spoken English, as compared to the commonly spoken Dutch, Deutsch or French in New York. To do business in New York being bilingual would have been necessary.

Additionally, New England, PA, and Virginia also had large volumes of farming land available for mono-cropping (tobacco plantations, cotton plantation, corn or wheat farming)... New York has land that produced market gardens, orchards, tobacco and dairy cows which was less appealing. While many people of England were looking to purchase land or set up a shop, the Scot-Irish were looking for employment, and looked to a Province with fewer slaves.

With low immigration, came another problem, germs. The community experienced low immigration but high transient population that came into and out of town. The community developed immunity over time from repeat exposure to germs. However, for the immigrants who did make the trip, 1702 was devastating year, roughly 570 young and old died from yellow fever.  In 1731, smallpox will take another 549 people. These are diseases that if a person survives, they will develop immunity.

Despite all this, the Scotts are hardy people. By the year 1700 there were four Presbyterian churches with Scottish and x-New England members plus enough Scots to support an additional 4 more Calvinist Churches. For those looking to do a 1670s - 1720s era persona, the Scottish are a great option !

Tartan, Scots' Cloth or Plaid mentioned in documents:

During my search I only found 18th Century documents including the poem from 1724. However, Jenn Scott supplied us with these references from the 17th Century. Her book, "Better is the Proud Plaid" takes the deep dive all the way back to the 17th Century using primary sources and is currently out in Amazon UK. It will be available to Americans in December... it is a must have for reenactors looking for well researched sources !

1618–33 Collie Highland Dress 10.

Their [sc. Highlanders'] habit is shoes with but one sole apiece, stockings (which they call short hose) made of a warm stuff of divers colours which they call tartane … A jerkin of the same stuff that their hose is of … with a plaid [etc.];

1699 Reg. Privy C. in Chambers Domestic Annals Scotl. III 126.]

Woollen stuffs of all sorts, … draughts, friezes, drogats, tartains, craips, capitations ' however certainly the gaelic references the time refer to the item of clothing - plaid and the cloth - tartan as checked or speckled



Some 18th Century mentions I found:



1724: I'll make ye a Propine, My Mither, honest Wife, has made it fine; A Tartan Plaid, spun of good hauslock Woo, Scarlet and Green the Sets, the Borders Blue, With Spraings like Gou'd and Siller, cross'd wi' Black, I never had it'yet upon my Back. - Miscellaneous Works of that celebrated Scotch poet, Allan Ramsay, By Allan Ramsay * Hauslock Wool, fine wool from the neck of the sheep. 

1749: [The clothing] It consisted of a roll of light woollen, called a plaid, six yards in length, and two in breadth, wrapped loosely 'around the body, the' upper lappet of which rested on the left shoulder, leaving the right arm at full liberty; a jacket of thick cloth, fitted highly to the body; and a loose short garment of light woolen that went around the waist and covered the thigh. - 1749 The Monthly Review, Volume 45, by Griffin or 1773 Memoirs of Great Britain and Ireland. From the dissolution of the last ...By Sir John DALRYMPLE

1785: The Highland plaid is composed of a woollen stuff, sometimes very fine, called tartan. This stuff confifts of various colours, forming stripes which cross each other at right angles; and the natives value themselves upon the judicious arrangement ... -
The New Universal Traveller: Containing a Full and Distinct Account of All, By Jonathan Carver

1818: First time acted in Covent Garden in 1757, The Play "DOUGLAS" Character costumes: NORVAL - Green plaid jacket, kilt, and tartan, flesh-'colored' stockings and arms, breastplate, cap, and sandals.  LORD RANDOLPH - Scarlet silk plaid jacket, ibid. GLENALVON - Green plaid, ibid. , Old NORVAL. Drab 'colored' doublet and breeches, plaid scarf, ibid. DONALD. Red plaid jacket, kilt and tartan, beast plate, ibid. -Dramatic Library, Volume 4 , 1818.    

In these quotes we can see that "tartan" comes in a variety of colors. And in the 1724 poem a tartan plaid in this instance had - "Scarlet and Green the Sets, the Borders Blue, With Spraings like Gou'd and Siller, cross'd wi' Black...". These quotes give us snippets and clues.

Scots Cloth in Probate Inventories and For Sale:

Plaids likely started coming over with the first Scottish after 1674, though few in number at first they along with the locals created a demand for merchants and shopkeepers to begin selling tartan fabric. The Scottish likely wore their tradition clothing while living in NY just as most everyone else did. It was the kind of place, where you could go to a market and pick out a person's ethnicity simply based on their clothes even in the 1670s, '80s & '90s. However, others including German and Dutch were  using tartan fabric for more mainstream clothing also. 

1697: John sprat (Scottish) and Maria de Peyster (Dutch) were merchants and had 5 ps of Scotts Cloth valued at 2.10.00 in their NYC store. They also have 14 yards "remaining" valued at 2.14.00.   

1695: Johannes "John" Clopper of NYC and of German heritage had "Scotts cloth" in his probate inventory.  

1684: Wina van Hoven of NYC and of Dutch heritage had 1 black "Tartenel" Samare  with "tocker" [tucker or modesty linen for across the top of stays]  in her personal inventory.  A samare is a pleated back robe, more like a coat when made of heavy material and more gown like when made of light material, with center front closure and no stomacher. By the 1680s, it could be as short as hip length or as long as mid-calf, never as long as the ankle. They are popular from 1580s to 1720s. 

1682: The inventory of Joseph Taylor a merchant of NYC had "Item 22 yards of linen Cloath 55 d: 15 1/2 of fine Scotch "Cloath" 52 d" valued at 5.07.00. 

A Scottish Merchant from Blastowne: 

The merchant, John MaxWell was a member of the Scots Charitable Society in Boston however, he was making a move to NY. He died on a return trip to New York from "Blastowne" Scotland in 1682, aboard his shipped called Rebecca: 

2 ps. of coarse cloth qt. 20 yes. 12 d yd... 1.00.00
4 ps. w/th "plaiding" qt. 125 yds at 9 d. yd. L1.0.0 ... 4.13.09
2 ps. coarse Serge 2 ps. qt. 36 yds. f. 3:12:39 yd 15 d... 6.00.09

The above "4 pieces with plaiding" is likely a cloth with checks upon it. A John Maxwell is listed as part owner of a ship named "Ann" along with John Borland a Scotsmen in Boston. The inventory that arrived in NYC from the ship, is not just a record of import from Scotland, it also happened to include his personal clothing including 1 feather bed 1 "baluster" & pillows, 10 old shirts, 1 black velvet cap furred, plus...

"2 Cloth Suits with 24 doz. [Buttons ? and ] 11 plate Buttons and  9 p[r] of tartan hose 15 d ... 0.11.03"  

The inventory also included kersey, stuff, cloth, coarse cloth, and serge... so we know that even if the "plaiding" was not checked, it was not one of the other types of cloth mentioned.


Some Extra Citations of Interest:  

In 1745, there was an issue where a bundle of cloth would have a "Scotts Cloth" on top and English made cloth under it... which did not go over well.  The Scottish wanted only their cloth to be sold under the label of "Scots Cloth"". "The Present State of Scotland Consider'd: and Its ... Sinking Condition Charged Upon the Conduct of the Landed Gentlemen, &c. Shewing ... that the Only Mean of Relieving Their Estates ... is by Their Joining Together to Promote Home Manufacture, Etc", Scotland, W. and T. Ruddimans, 1745

With this in mind, it might be advisable to take into consideration the pride of the Scots when portraying colonist. In 1746, the following order was given to exclude Scottish clothing for people in "...his Majesty's forces..." and can be found in "Anno Regni Georgii II. Regis Magnae Britanniæ, Franciæ, & Hiberniæ, Vicesimo Primo ... (An Act to Amend and Enforce So Much of an Act Made in the Nineteenth Year of His Majesty's Reign, as Relates to the More Effectual Disarming the Highlands in Scotland ... )" by Adrian Watkins, 1748.

1780 - Highland Wedding David Allan (1744-1796)

A Note on Swords: 

The Scots used a "two handed swords" in the 16th Century along with arrows for defense in the early years but switched over to pistols and "broadswords" in by the 17th Century. - "A Description of the Western Islands of Scotland: Containing a Full Account ...", 1703 By Martin Martin.

Broadswords were brought to 17th Century New York. Our merchant John MaxWell had a few other items. The goods included: "1 Gunn 2 Carbines; 3 broad swords". Plus, in with the bridle and livery clothing was "a silver hilt sword" likely his personal cavalry sword which would only have one side of the blade sharpened as compared to duel blades on the broadsword. Swords like most goods were coming in from far and wide... remember the Japanese sword?

"Swords" are commonly mentioned in New Netherland and New York however, however rapiers are most often cited. From most common to least: Rapier, Sword, Cutlas, and Hanger in the 17th Century definitions. A few of the "swords" are associated with livery or bridles and saddles but it is not common.

For events targeting the second half of the 17th and first half of the 18th... dressing with tartan hose and plaid is a great way for reenactors to connect with their audiences ! Just mind the accents...


To all my McDougald kin down in North Carolina:

1724: 

I'll make ye a Propine, 

My Mither, honest Wife, has made it fine; 

A Tartan Plaid, spun of good hauslock Woo, 

Scarlet and Green the Sets, the Borders Blue, 

With Spraings like Gou'd and Siller, cross'd wi' Black, 

I never had it'yet upon my Back. 

- Allan Ramsay

Japanese Kimonos in Colonial New York

"1 blew silk Japon men gowne 02:10:00" - 1685 NYC

If you are a reenactor looking for something different or are a bit baffled by the fact that many types of men's and women's robes are listed under the generic term "dressing gown" or "night gown"  or more appropriately "chamber robe" we can use primary sources to determine what the variety of robes really were. 

One thing to consider, is that the 17th Century bridges the middle ages to modern era, so when thinking on how a person perceived themselves and the world the 1600s really were a blend of the 1500s and the 1700s. The microscope and telescope were newly invented, bayonets were mostly being used by French armies and not widely en vogue instead there were pikes and snaphaunces, and meat became something people had weekly. The Dutch discovered every possible broom and brush for cleaning the home and developed the idea of washing one's clothes each week. The western world discovered coffee, tea, lettuce salad and this thing called a fork from Italy and tiny tea pots of red clay from China. Then they wrote about it in several "Discovering the world" books and published maps of near and far off places, both of which were exceedingly popular because half the population could read. The Discovering the world books always include a description of clothing, not just the jacket or robe, but even what they wore under their clothes... every piece. The Dutch were curious, exacting... and likely got nipped in the nose a few times.  

With people being able to read about these lands and find them on a map, their desire to own goods from these places were the next step. Interestedly, an item like a Japon robe does not reveal much of the body. The emphasis was not if he looked masculine, or if she had a tiny waist, it was about the person. And apparently, clothing that emphasized the person was popular. Some call it a Golden Age; it really was a Sophistication of the curious mind, an escape for one that loved reading about people both next door and in far off lands. 

Robes: 

There are actually four different terms that get grouped under "chamber robe" when using 18th Century references; the Banyan (Bannian), Japon rok (Japonsch rok), the Turk and the Muscavoy. However, in the 17th Century they are identified by the nation they originate from. There is also the Sultan which crops up for men in the 17th Century, then falls to the side, and reappears in feminine form in the 18th Century...but I have yet to have found these in American docs. 

Of the five robes mentioned, the Japon rok, Turk and Muscavoy are worn during both the 17th and 18th Centuries in New York and New Netherland. For those 17thC reenactors preferring a fitted garment like the Banyan, consider a Muscavoy coat which is a similar fit and length but with parallel horizontal frogging down the front. You probably have seen them in paintings. Or a Turk which has fitted sleeves and wrap front. The Sultan has wide sleeves like the Japon. We can circle back to these other robes. 


In dictionaries: 

1766 - A Large Dictionary English and Dutch: in two parts - "“Ro’k, a coat, gown. (next) een Japonsche-rok, a chamber-gown." 

 1766 —-Volkomen woordenboek der englelsche en nederduitsche taalen, by William Sewel, Egbert Buys, Caspar Philips - "A morning gown, Een nagt rok, japon."

1707 - A Large Dictionary English and Dutch,: In Two Parts by the Englishman Willem Sewel, “JAPON, Japonse rok, a Chamber gown."


In Early Documents: 

1690 - Europische Mercurius behelzende al het voornaamste 't geen in ..., Volume 1
By E.V. V. "...that was the end of justice. The Elector went beforehand, with the principal Ladies, at one end of the Hall, where after his Seal, regal thoroughness, with a long Japanese dress, was done..."

1669 - "Gedenkwaerdige Gesantschappen Der Oost-Indische Maatschappy in 't Vereenigde ..." By Arnoldus Montanus 

Were there other items from Japan?

Yes. Japanese stilyards, a type of scale, are common in most any inventory where someone sold groceries, sugar, textiles,... anything. Sometimes, a person (men and women) didn't sell anything and there are large and small stilyards in the same inventory. The small ones can be carried in a bag they are so small and good for purchasing small personal size amounts of tea or sugar. There is a Japanese cutlas. There are also Japanese quilts, compared to ones from India. Plus, lacquered chests small and large. Plus, the type of pant worn with the Japon were also imported. Much of this is due to Wina van Hoorn who imported goods from the far east, but also from India. 

Side note: 

The term Ban-nian/Ba-nian is the original word and used in both the 17th and 18th Century. Bannian and Banian continue to be used in the 18th Century but the spelling "Banyan" is introduce in 1728. I am guessing that the spelling used for "Banyan" may be an English colloquialism. The original using the /a/ as in / ball/, instead of the American short /a/ sound. 

In 1641 the first Japanese kosode are shipped to Amsterdam: 

In 1641, The supreme leader of Japan was the Shogun who gifted 53 of these silk robes - 23 were black - to seal the trade deal with the Directors of the Dutch East Indies Company. These robes are not really kimonos. The kimono starts off as the kosode in the 17th Century, and developed from here. [koe-soe-day]  Wiki Commons Kosode Image. For the record, Japanese use the European pronunciation of vowels. 

1675, Netherlands, Anna Elisabeth van reede. 

The Kosode in the Netherlands:

The Dutch were not irreverent to the importance of the gift that they would use it as a dressing gown but instead they were worn to work which is why during the 17th Century they are often painting while the sitter is at a desk in front of a book. They were also called a "night gown" not to be confused with a dressing gown. 

In the below two images the similarities of shaping can be seen. Both happen to be printed in 1669. 

1669 - Portrait of Amsterdam predikant Conradus Hoppe, by Jan Veenhuysen

1669 Likely a Japon but could also be a "Sultan", of Daniel Bernard from Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen is on loan at the Amsterdam Museum. 

Due to the early date of the image above, it is likely an original "Japon Rok" (Rok = Dress) which would be worn over a skimpy double or waistcoat instead of a jacket or coat. When I did a year long study aboard in Japan, my professor told the class that the word "Japon" and "Japan" is a Dutch invention. It is possible that the Dutch heard Ji-pon or Ja-pon when the Japanese introduced themselves as "Ni-hon-jin" and referred to their nation as "Ni-pon". And truethfully to western ears, /ja/ in Japanese [Nihongo] really does sound similar to /ji/ in the same away that /p/ and /b/ or /m/ and /n/ can be mistaken in English. 


Were there Japon Robes in America? 

There are defiantly a number of them as they are called such by name, Japon rok or Japon robe plus the paintings ! There is another robe, that we can tell is a Japon because it was "padded" as described in Dutch: 1693, Albany, a night "rok" with padding. We can include this because the inventory was written in Dutch with the exact same terms being used in the Netherlands for the same time period. A Night dress in the Netherlands is a robe worn over clothes in place of a coat or jacket. This particular robe is listed with the petticoats. 

A 1685 NYC probate inventory has, "1 Japon Coate lining with 'redd' say 01:15:00". This robe was possibly a Dutch or domestically (American) made Japon coat as say was not a textile of Japan. However, the "1 blew silk Japon men gowne 02:10:00" and the "1 ditto 'redd' 02:10:00 that were for sale in an East Indies store in 1685 Manhattan are highly likely imported Japanese kosode. This same store also lists a number of flowered "India jackets" so we can see that this is not confusion on the part of the author's, who happened to be the owner of the shop. In 1686, the Mayor of Albany owned 2 Japon robes. 

At one to two pounds it was not a robe within "every" person's means, but it is comparable to other clothing. As can be seen, one silk Japon is worth about one man's suit or a woman's scarlet petticoat and Samare from a squarely middle class couple's wardrobe. Alternatively, the domestically made one is the same cost as a Jacket. A colonist could have two sets of waistcoat and bottoms and wear a jacket with one and a Japon with the other. 

1685: 1 black “gross” “greaine” “suite” [men's] 02:17:00, 1 "Indea" "petticoats" with body of "redd" bay 00:17:00, 1 ditto [woman's Indea petticoat] Scarlett 01:15:00, 1 flowered calico petty coats with "redd" lining 00:16:00, 1 colored "stuff" Samare [woman's pleated back coat] 01:10:00.

Japon robes during the 1640s - 1660s were owned by mega merchants or directors of the Dutch East Indies company. By the 1670s, enough had been imported that not only magistrates, but also clerks, scientist and even artists and musicians were wearing them. Women merchants and shopkeepers also sported Japon robes. It was a very continental thing to do, and signaled to everyone that you had a love for exotic cultures and goods. 


The PAINTINGS ! 

There are a few of them, most of which show women wearing them. The upper portrait: This is one of the most beautiful, the sitter is unknown though from New York and the painting is attributed to Gerrit Duyckinck c1660-1710. The lower family painting: Below is a painting of the Emmanuel de Witte, Family Portrait, Munich 1677 with a daughter in similar Japon. It is likely that our unknown sitter is painted about 1690 due to the gown, fan, hair and also the front lacing stay. (There are a couple early inventories that mention having a painting of their daughter, that with further research it may be possible to narrow who this person is down to 1 or two choices.) Because there are no stays for children recorded in 17th Century inventories except out on Long Island, I would say she is over 14 years old and likely closer to her late teens. Her clothing shows her sophistication as she choose a garment from Japan rather than other styles, her stays were attractive so instead of a stomacher she showed the lacing. This is common among Central Europeans. Her fan, again, is a fashion statement, on trend, and nothing more. The flower however, may have some significance beyond giving her something to hold, but it is important not to read too deep. Her hair being down is also common in New York for woman, and should not be read into. Visitors comment on the simple hair styles of New Yorkers, and their "spritely" attitudes. 

The below image is of Deborah Glen, attributed to the Gansevoort Limner, and is in the Colonial Williamsville collection. Note that the pattern on the sleeve is perpendicular to the pattern on the dress when the arm is at rest. There is a hard date to the painting of 1739 in or near Albany, NY. It is difficult to know if the center front of the robe is sewn shut or is just overlapped. However, an English visitor remarks on another Albany family as wearing the same outfit, a wrapping style robe flowered over a petticoat. They also mention the people of up-state NY having their hair not up... but down and simply in a tie like the painting. The visitor mentions this was daily attire for women whether a teacher or student, as much as it was to play shuttlecock or chest. Apparently, normal pastimes for NY women. 

What is interesting is that Glen choose a traditional robe to be painted in with contrasting lining that had been in fashion in up-state New York since the late 17th Century and originated in the Netherlands. Her pierced ears are another traditional refinement that has been fashionable since the 17th Century in New York. I think there is a tendency to mistake her garment as being "rich" or of a "wealthy" class.. but by 1700 this style of robe was typical of educated people as much as it was of artists, musicians and shopkeepers. I think it speaks to both cultural tradition and worldly sophistication. What is fashion forward is her use of a Central European stay, which you glimpse where the lacing crisscrosses in the center front. This was on trend in culturally Germanic regions, and New York, and the shortening of the sleeves which started in the 1720s. It was common for Dutchmen to present their betrothed with a ring of engagement, usually with a small stone in it. It seems Glen has one as this painting occurs right before her wedding. There are a couple early reference to roses and wreaths, with the first from a book looking at the errors of people. 

This gown, along with the Turkish robe will dominate fashions in New York from about 1700-1740s and possibly through the F&I war (1763). 

1668 - "...And also tolerable, if we (wishing that our words are kept closed under the Rose), there are also bad people in company and at the beer bank; In the old habit of wearing rose wreaths in guest rooms, and in this manner, we do not speak of the custom (who is the High-German), who paint a rose in the button [?] on the table. But it would be more significant if it were as original as Lemnius and other written books, that the Rose was the Flower of Venus, which Cupid Harpocrates, the God of silent temperament, had tolerated;..." - "Pseudo-doxia epidemica, dat is: Beschryvinge van verscheyde algemene dwalingen des volks,..."

The painted flower may reference the idea of a Rose by any other name by William Shakespeare. A 1740 reference to how to paint wreaths of roses or flowers states "... and although every flower has its own name, shape and color, it is not considered, however, in general, that is to say, as under the name can flowers." - Book, "Groot schilderboek, waar in de schilderkonst in al haar deelen grondig werd onderweezen, ..."

If we look at the use of the rose, and the fact that Glen was about to be married, the roses simply represent love.

Mr. Livingston: 

One of the most interesting paintings of an early American is of Robert Livingston (1654-1728), Lord of Livingston Manor who was of Scottish heritage. This is because he was politically on the side of the Governor and is painted with a whig styled in the English fashion and a cravat. However, his whig is brown which was typical color worn by the Dutch and Continental colonist rather than white as preferred by England. This is something that can be seen in paintings but was another observation by visitors. The other blaring issue is he choose the most common color Japon robe used by Dutch Magistrates back in Amsterdam to be painted in. But why? The first Samurai Japon robes were "reddish", brown or black and usually lined in the same color. Though, a more fashionable Japon was with contrasting color lining and had become trending by the time of this painting. It is as if he is giving tribute to both the English governor and the other Dutch and Continental merchants he had to live and work with. 

Merchant: Robert Livingston (1654-1728), Lord of Livingston Manor, New York. The Painting was likely made while he held office 1715 – 1728. - Note how Livingston's hair is brown like the other Dutch paintings but parted at top and the style more structured. And that he points and holds his robe like the Dutch paintings specifically one painted by Caspar Netscher (1639 - 1684) . In most paintings the wearer has to use one hand to hold the Japon closed, however, when painted in genre the Japon is held together with a sash.

Scientist: Portrait of Anthonie van Leeuwenhoek, Natural Philosopher and Zoologist in Delft, Netherlands, Jan Verkolje (I), 1680 - 1686

Doctor: David , Agneta en hun dochter Catherina Neufville - Michiel van Musscher (1645 - 1705), below is an example of a padded Japon... it should have a quilted feel. 

In the End: 

The Japon robe when appropriated by the French is so popular it will be the first on record as being downgraded to a chamber gown from its standing as a robe for Samurai. It is possible that the French had no idea of its importance having adopted the fashion through the Dutch, though they are aware of the original name, Japon. 

There are about eight paintings of New York woman plus Livingston's with a Japon, plus another six in personal inventories (that do not line up with the paintings unfortunately) and another two in a store for sale. It is a robe that could easily be worn for reenacting from the 1650/60s to at least the end of the French and Indian war 1763. New York will never really leave their interest in Japan on the table, paintings by artist will show women in both kosode and later kimonos for some time to come. 

Musician: 

Französischer Meister:

Johannes Hudde (1628 - 1704), Michiel van Musscher, 1686, This one is flowered and padded:

1710 - La diseuse de bonne aventure | Jean Antoine Watteau (1710), And an extend Italian Japon from 1710-1720 made of Lampus comes with blue cap of same material and Caspar Netscher (d. 1684) - Portret van een man in Japanse mantel. 

2 Paintings attributed to Caspar Netscher (d.1684) - Sold at Auctions

This one below in black is one of the most rare types of kimono, due to its color, also by Caspar Netscher (d. 1684). 

The sense of self in the Netherlands and personal identity was not just identifiable at the elite end of the spectrum, but people throughout the middle class which includes the working class were expressing themselves in new and novel way. They were completely adopted foreign garments and using them in a similar way their were originally intended. So, the next time you see a loose robe with no buttons and someone calls it a "dressing gown"... explain it is worn over a waistcoat and bottoms instead of a coat so one may be comfortable while at work, reading, composing music, painting or simply... as a clerk staying up all night trying to get the accounting finished before the shipment arrives the next day.

The two images below don't belong together but have similar coloring and patterning. 

Upper photo: Caspar Netscher, Dutch, 1639-1684, Portrait of a Gentleman, 1680

Lower photo: Silk, gouddraad, Foto: Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, 1689-1702

Are Pirate Gowns Real ?

We need not recreate the past to understand it but only to appreciate the facts. In our interpretation we can strive to get it exacting to a specific time, however, it is just as important to understand how things change from moment to moment. In particular how often ideas tend to overlap, with transitions never truly instantaneous, at least with New York. It is not unusual for historians to skirt around the New York issue, it is complicated with many tremulous years. Though, as we continue to explore we find that while politics and sovereigns were blown through like tissues, the culture of the colony was ever lasting. Founded with Dutch civil liberties and Cannon law and their obsession with all things worldly and unbridled curiosity; they, let fantasy become reality. They lived in a world where pirate gowns are real.

They turn up in both Dutch New Netherland and British New York. Except, they are not historically called pirate or cavalier dresses. On the Continent and in early American inventories this type of gown is called a Tabbaard. Common spellings: Tabbaard, Tabbard, Tabbart, Tabbert, Tabb...etc. The key to a good replica of a tabbaard - as compared to the costumes in movies - is a snug fitted bodice that compresses the bust not the waist and looks like it is mounted on pasteboard; with a skirt with many tiny pleats. The best part is... they are fair game for reenactors and historic sites.

The tabbaard is one of those dresses that is representative of people from a wide range of economic backgrounds. Whether your were a farmer in the town of Beverwijk - now the City of Albany, NY - the wife of a small town doctor on the Hudson River... or even the Electress of the Holy Roman Empire in Europe; the tabbaard was a gown accessible to people of various classes. It is reflective of the landscape these early Americans lived; where, while not royals, with industry and good provenance one could have a splendid gown of silk for weddings and holiday.

Below a cropped image: Magdalene Sibylle of Prussia (31 December 1586 – 12 February 1659) was an Electress of Saxony as the spouse of John George I, Elector of Saxony. i.0043, Photo from the Rüstkammer/SKD für die Ausstellung „Der frühe Vermeer“ Gemäldegalerie Dresden, 2010

History:

Deciphering fashions in the 17th century requires following a garment back to its place of origin. Then one can see it mature, spread and evolve into other styles. The Tabbaard got its start in Italy - likely Venetian -  and is seen there by the third quarter of the 16th Century (about 1580s). The tabbaard, however, gets picked up by various nations though in differing styles. For France, it will morph from the Italian style to a bodice with a front sloping "swan" waist at the turn of the century. Then to a high-wider waist in the 1630s as can be seen with Magdalene Sibylle of Prussia gown pictured above; and a long more up-right torso for the rest of the century. The Images below are all Central European extant tabbaards with known owners. Note the waist line drops from the left to the right as the century moves forward.

Below cropped images: Left (Dated to 1635-1645) and Center (Possibly 1645) gowns once owned by Magdalene Sibylle of Prussia (31 December 1586 – 12 February 1659), Right tabbaard bodice in the Hessisches Landesmuseum Darmstadt Collection 1660.

The first two bodices are on display and are part of a show being held at the Dresden Rüstkammer museum in Germany. See link to the museum's site Scroll down to see VIDEO.

The Tabbaard in Holland:

The tabbaard is defined by Marieke de Winkel in her book Fashion and Fancy: Dress and the Meaning in Rembrandt's Paintings. It is a gown made up of a stiffen bodice that is laced up the back, it is not boned, but has a matching skirt. A petticoat is worn under the skirt. Fashion and Fancy includes a number of inventories and explanation of men and women's garments and accessories based on de Winkel's graduate thesis and an impressive number of primary sources.

In one of the inventories included in the book is that of a wealthy couple Captain Maerten Pietersez Dacey and his Widow Oopjen Coppit, November 1659. The inventory is massive and includes the following gowns:

In the bottom wardrobe

a plush tabbert of Oopjen Coppit
a "toers" tabbert of the same
a serge tabbert of the same

a red under pettcoat with passements
a green satin skirt of the same
a violet satin shirt of the same
an ash gray satin skirt
a green daily skirt
a small red under-petticoat
a white birds-eye skirt [petticoat]

When looking at Coppit's inventory we see a plush, "toers" and serge "tabbert". The plush is a velvet, the "toers" is a corded silk made in Belgium or Holland ( likely Leiden) woven in the Ottoman Empire fashion with blend of cashmere and silk; but sometimes with just silk. It is a slightly larger grain than modern silk fallie. (We will discuss corded silks in a later post.)


New Netherland and New York:

As we can see, both royal and wealthy merchant women of Europe are wearing the tabbaard. The images of the Electress's extant samples above were chosen in part because we know who owned them and when the she lived, with a death in 1659, making them easy to date and compare. In New Netherland and New York there is no royalty and it is not with the mega-merchants that we find three or four tabbaard per inventory; it is the growing middle class and frugal farmers that have acquired one tabbaard each. They are likely the wedding dresses that are later recycled into Holiday and special occasion wear. These wardrobes have another important outfit called the vlieger, which are more reserved in appearance and likely what was used for Sunday best. Though, due to the late date of these wardrobes it is also possible that these tabbaards were acquire to take the place of their vlieger even for Sunday best.

In an inventory from 1664, we see a fashionable couple with three little children sporting both vintage and the latest trends from Europe. They weren't living in  London, or Amsterdam or Paris, but in a little town called Wildwijk on the Hudson River. Looking at the 1665 inventory of Rachel de la Montagne (d. 1664) and Gysbert van Imbroch (d. 1665), we are seeing the inventory of doctor from a small town. Prior to arriving in Wildwijk, Gysbert supplemented is income by winning the bid to perform the duties of selling testaments and bibles for two years in Manhattan. It seems that selling books becomes a on-going side job, as his inventory taken in Wiltwijk could fill a town library. It included a variety of books on literature, gardening, medical and school books for children. It is not unusual for people to pick up side jobs to make some extra income. Unfortunately, they died young leaving a 5, 3, and 1 year old; the children of which went to live with family. Interestingly, not only have their children and inventory survive them but so has their stone house which can be visited in the old section of what is today called Kingston, New York. Also, we can see that while Imbroch was Dutch, de la Montagne was French Huguenot.

In de la Montagne's wardrobe is a "tabbaard" (spelled in her inventory as "Tabbard") that could be worn with one of her three petticoats and a number of white or black hoods, two fans, handkerchiefs both round and square and even two cosmetics. She also had two cosmetics; one red and one black. Plus a few night time forehead bands that would be infused with oils intending to reduce the likelihood of wrinkles. The rest of her inventory is made up of jackets.

1665 inventory of Rachel de la Montagne (d. 1664) & Gysbert van Imbroch (d. 1665), Wiltwijk, NN

A black silk gross grain "Tabbert" with "sarcenet" under (a type of soft lining)
A colored gross grain petticoat with green lining
A colored changeable [silk] petticoat with green lining
A red scarlet petticoat


Inventories in New Netherland and New York tend to point out when a garment is scarlet, red, purple and black. This is in part due to the high cost of these dyes combined with the labor. When the item is simply stated to be "colored" the only option - in an effort to guess the color - is to note the other colors that were mentioned and know it was not one of those. Alternatively, if there is something notable for instance "changeable" silk or if it is lined the recorder will point this out. In the original translation of this inventory from the 1900s, the "A colored changeable petticoat with green lining" was originally translated as "reversible", but it is actually "changeable". Research such as that done by De Winkel in her book Fashion and Fancy has traced many of the 17th Century clothing terms for us.

The Tabbaard comes on the scene in an early form for the wealthy of Continental Europe in the late 1500s, remains a gown of choice throughout this time, then starts to spread from nobility and large merchants to the burghers (small traders) and crafts people by the 1650s. Rachael and Gysbert were married in 1657, and it is possible she brought this gown with her from her hometown of Albany, NY.  Interestingly, both Rachael's tabbaard in New Netherland and Oopjen's tabbaard mentioned in the 1659 Holland inventory previously are both made of corded silk, or a corded cashmere-silk blend.

By the 1660s, the Tabbaard was accessible to well off farmers also. A second tabbaard is in a 1664 inventory from Fort Orange near Albany, the wardrobe of which had both vintage and modern clothing including; "1 tabbaard bodice [stored] in a piece of white cloth". It is possible that this bodice was a gross grain also as many other items including hoods and aprons were also made of gross grain, but may or may not be purse silk.

Below is a Tabbaart gown with matching bodice and skirt plus an under petticoat. This particular tabbaard would be very similar to the ones worn in the two 1660s inventories above. Also, over skirt were often sewn to the tabbaard.

Below self portrait, Zelfportret van Gesina, driekwart naar rechts, Gesina ter Borch, Joost Hermans Roldanus, 1661.

Here you can see both a family in formal tabbaard and the servants in more casual but also lovely tabbaard. Painting by Gillis van Tilborgh born 1625 Link.

Through each of these eras, the sleeves change to follow current trends while retaining the general silhouette, plus the bodice and the front princes seams on the torso. We can see the sleeve becoming longer. Many tabbaard in jacket form have attached sleeves whereas, the bodice versions or summer versions have attachable sleeves. Also, in the 1640s to 60s, it is a formal gown with matching bodice and skirt with under petticoat, it becomes more relaxed as a semi-formal and even casual wear in the 1660s and 70s.

By the third quarter (1670s), servants and laborers up-date their stays (a corset like garment) and jackets to look more like the tabbaard. The working class stays and jackets take on the princes-like seams and shape of the Tabbaard bodice but may or may not keep the sleeves.  See Dordrechts Museum Link.  for the image below. But simultaneously, for wealthier people the gown becomes formal again.

The 1664 Wiltwijk and Fort Orange inventories were not the only lists with a Tabbaard. Another can be found in the 1690s. A rather nice one appears in Lysbett van Eps's inventory who was a small trader-merchant; you may remember her as being the Albany shop keeper selling large qualities of Indigenous Leggings for adults and children.

Van Eps may have acquired her tabbaard when she made a trip to Amsterdam in the 1670s to purchase fabric for traded. While the one in the 1690s inventory has an unknown color it came with a detached skirt with both being made of fine "toers" corded silk. This is a fine grain fabric that has survived the centuries due to the quality. It is a silk that wares well, and from which modern bridal gown are be made. This is likely the Fort Orange tabbaard coming back into the formal-ware category again.


Re-Cap: 

1659 Holland, Marchant:  a plush tabbert, a "toers" tabbert, a serge tabbert

1664 Fort Orange, Farmer:  1 tabbaard bodice [stored] in a piece of white cloth

1664/65 Wiltwijk, Doctor's wife, book seller:  A black silk gross grain "Tabbert" w/ sarcenet lining

1693 Fort Orange, Shop keeper:  1 ditto [toers] "tabbaart" "cijt"


One of the nice things about these examples, is that it leaves the door open to women from different economic backgrounds as having access to this type of gown. It is something that can be worn formally or semi-formal, in matching top and bottom or mixed and match. Interestingly, this garment continued to be used under English sovereignty. It is possible that the large merchants of the colony had more than one tabbaard, whereas we can see that famers, shop keepers, and professional's wives may of had only one.

The tabbaard will continue to live on from the 17th Century and into the 18th Century. Below Left to Right is a 1659, 1690 and then 1745 painting. The tabbaard is also called a camisole in German and is part of the court costume throughout this time frame. While the tabbaard will come in and out of fashion in France and England, it had become part of the wardrobe for Central Europe since the 1630s.

Below Image Cropping Left to Right: Left Jeanne Parmentier by Bartholomeus van der Helst, 1656 ,  LINK. , Center Eleonore Magdalene von Pfalz-Neuburg LINK. , Right Madame Henriette (Louis XV's daughter) playing the Viola da Gamba in Court dress by Jean-Marc Nattier (1685- 1766) LINK. 

The tabbaard is not the only formal outfit that appears in inventories, however, it is the most fanciful or princes like. As we continue to explore we will see formal-ware was as important to the wardrobe as exotic and worldly robes from the east.