Craigdarroch Castle : Object : uniform [2020.005.001.001]

Comments and Tags (0)

Object

Accession Number

2020.005.001.001

Alternate Name

Civil Full Court Dress coatee;coatee;jacket

Description

A midnight blue wool coatee with broad and heavy gold braid appliquéd on both sides of the button pocket, around the collar, on both sides of the tails, and around the cuffs. There are gold-plated brass buttons bearing British Columbia's Coat of Arms on the front and back of the coatee. A cream-coloured linen label stitched to the inside back of the collar has blue stitched lettering "GIBB & COMP.Y. MONTREAL NO.", and in ink by hand, "1706 1/9/06 His Honour L.t. Governor James Dunsmuir".

Narrative

This coatee is part of the Civil Full Court Dress (uniform) that the Sovereign entitles Canada's Governor General and the Lieutenant Governors of its provinces to wear.

Often referred to as a Vice-Regal uniform, or the Windsor uniform, this costume is typically worn by the Governor General or a Lieutenant Governor on ceremonial occasions, such as when reading the Speech From The Throne in Canada's Senate Chamber or in provincial legislatures. While the practice of wearing Full Court Dress was common among Canada's Lieutenant Governors during the 19th and early 20th Centuries, its use has been diminishing in recent decades.

This particular uniform was retailed in Montreal, PQ, Canada by Gibb & Co. of Montreal. The firm probably made the uniform, though the gold braid was likely made in the United Kingdom and appliquéd to the uniform in Montreal. ¹

The uniform was made for Hon. James Dunsmuir, who served as British Columbia's eighth Lieutenant Governor from 1906 to 1909. Its connection to the Dunsmuir family story and the history of British Columbia is the reason it was collected.

1. Gail Cariou,"Enduring Roots: Gibb and Co. and the Nineteenth Century Tailoring Trade in Montreal", published in Fashion: A Canadian Perspective, Alexandra Palmer, Royal Ontario Museum, Editor (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, Scholarly Publishing Division, 2004.)

History of Use

This uniform was ordered for Hon. James Dunsmuir, the eighth Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia. He used it from 1906 to 1909 under HM Edward VII.

It was next used by Hon. Thomas Wilson Paterson, the ninth Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia. He used it from 1909 to 1914 under HM George V.

It was next used by Hon. Sir Francis Stillman Barnard KCMG, the tenth Lieutenant Governor. He used it from 1914 to 1920 under HM George V.

It was next used by Hon. Edward Gawler Prior, KC, the eleventh Lieutenant Governor. He used it from 1919 to 1920 under HM George V.

It was next used by Hon. Walter Cameron Nichol, the twelfth Lieutenant Governor. He used it from 1920 to 1926 under HM George V. Upon his death, the uniform was stored in Victoria by his widow Quita Josephine March Moore, who donated it to the Society for the Preservation and Maintenance of Craigdarroch Castle, later renamed Craigdarroch Castle Historical Museum Society.