Coat; Overcoat; Cape

Description

Sewn into the cape and overcoat of this livery are the names “Tom Brown” and “Tilghman Davis.” Both men were enslaved at the Ridgely estate of Hampton in Towson, Maryland, but remained with the family after emancipation. Liveries began as a European custom, but prominent American families adopted the practice of dressing their servants or enslaved workers in these finely constructed uniforms to publicly display the family’s wealth and social stature. Embossed on the overcoat’s buttons are stag heads—the Ridgely family crest, which visually associated the servants and slaves with the family.