RD II Transitionals

[Jefferson Guards]

Has anyone been able to view an original Richmond Clothing Manufactory "Type II" jacket constructed of imported English kersey? From Jensen's article it appears that there were a wide variety of variable constuction details that make these jackets appear to be a transitional piece between that of a Type II and a Type III jacket. I know one was manufactured with shoulder starps and belt loops, one had shoulder straps and no belt loops, and one in the Gettysburg museum apparently has belt loops, but no shoulder straps. My question is: is there variation in construction of these features coinciding with the variation in appearance of these features. For example do "early" transitional jackets exhibit "double thickness" shoulder straps while "later" ones exhibit the single ply? I don't know if there would be enough evidence to even answer the question, so I am throwing this out to those who may have more experience and knowledge of these kind of jackets.

[Yellowhammer]

Re: RD II Transitionals

Brian,

That is a good question. Regarding the shoulder straps, the Ramsey jacket at the Smithsonian has single ply straps. I am unaware of the shoulder strap construction details on any of the other all wool RDIIs extant.

As an aside, I think it is important to note the difference between pattern differences and construction differences. Given the extremely small number of examples, it is impossible to tell if the single ply shoulder strap was an idea of the person doing the construction or if they received instructions from the Manufactury. My personal suspicion is that many of the differences we see in QM-produced garments within a pattern are the result of creativity by the individual doing the construction rather than an edict from the QM regarding how to put them together.