Looking for an example of a Marlburian uniform I came across
this happy looking couple from circa 1700. Known as Lord and Lady Clapham, they reside in the
collection of the V&A and are, I am sure, well known inhabitants of South
Kensington. Never met them until
now, but happy to make their acquaintance. Dolls normally leave me cold, whereas dioramas captivate me,
odd since both essentially represent life in miniature, but that’s the mind for
you. However, this couple enchanted me lock, stock and barrel. The description from the V&A notes
that these belonged to the Cockerell family who were related to Samuel Pepys
(1633-1703) through his grandniece who married into the Cockerell family of
Clapham (south London). The dolls
were named the ‘Lord’ and ‘Lady’ after the family’s resident town. Dolls of this age are rare enough, as is
the clothing for either a doll or a person, so this is a rare artifact indeed.
Lord Clapham’s justacorps immediately caught my eye. The
flare of the wee man’s coat is dramatic. In part this may be due to the flattening
of the fabric over time and the exaggerated pressed bell-shape that results,
but also due to the circumference, which displays the stylistic difference
between the beginning and end of the 18
th century.
This early 18
th century
justacorps has a lush fullness that is the antithesis of the shadbelly
silhouette of the 1790s.
Men must
have moved differently in this part of the century, or rather clothing moved
differently on them. Perhaps it can be likened to the shimmy of a woman’s
fringe tiered dress from the 1920s, which encapsulates a style, a period, and a
way of moving through space. I look at this coat and the term swagger comes to
mind, the self-possessed not the pompous definition of the word.
It illuminates that moment of
confidence that propelled the 18
th century out of the turbulence and
political quagmire of the 17
th century and into the enlightenment,
inquiry and reason that become the hallmarks of the 18
th century.
To my eye there is a raw exuberance in
this period’s clothing, which disappears with the studied elegance of its fin
de siècle cousin.
Conceptually, they
are of the same family, but the stylistic refinement of the later leaves me a
bit cold.
It is a personal conceit
and I can understand the fascination with the end of the 18
th
century, but perhaps I am too much of a Whig at heart to surrender to the
opposition.
As this started with a quest for an example of a Marlburian
justacorps I need to be mindful of the military aspect of this period with the
triumph of Marlborough and the allied armies. England entered the War of
Spanish Succession (1701-1714) as a realm fearful of French and Spanish
Continental domination, but finished it as a united kingdom of England and
Scotland triumphant on the European battlefield. This engraving by Jean Dubosc, created after a painting by
Louis Leguerre, of the battle of Taniers (currently Malplaquet) (1709) shows
how voluminous justacorps could be.
The pleating of the coat skirts displays a kilt-like density. This color version done later is easier to read than the
black and white original, at least for my purposes and close-ups follow.
 |
| Close-up center |
 |
Close-up right of log
|
While only a vestige of the full scale rendition, Lord
Clapham’s justacorps and vest with their tight but closable tubular torsos and
voluminous skirts are indicative of the of the stiffened coat skirt that waxes
and wanes for the next fifty years.
Was the use by men of coat skirt stiffeners a martial fashion response
to this triumphant military decade? Was the reintroduction of side padding by
women at this time a nod to martial influenced fashion? Questions for another time I
think.
Jeffrey Hopper is an author, editor and the Manager of the Warner House, in Portsmouth, NH.
