Accession Number

2024.004

Alternate Name

fur coat

Description

One medium brown mink coat designed to be loosely worn by a woman. The condition of the coat is very good. The fur pelts comprising the coat have been sliced and sewn vertically into a large, smooth expanse of fur of variegated colouration. The tapering lapels are very wide (17.5 cm to 7 cm) and extend to the bottom of the coat. The arms are cuffed, and the cuffs are 6.8 cm wide. The coat has never had buttons or other forms of fasteners. The dark green satin lining is in very good condition. At the lining’s centre-top near the collar is a dark brown label attached with cross-stitched cream-coloured thread. Embroidered onto this label in identical cream-coloured thread is “SAKS - Fifth Avenue” in cursive font. On the left side lining (when facing the coat) is the name “Moulie” embroidered in cursive font using a taupe-coloured thread.

Narrative

This fur coat was owned and worn by Jessie Muriel Dunsmuir (1890-1959), the Dunsmuir woman noted for her splendid sartorial choices. She was briefly married to one of Europe’s foremost fashion designers, Edward Molyneux (1891-1974).

History of Use

This coat was purchased by Jessie Muriel “Moulie” Dunsmuir (1890-1959) at Saks-Fifth Avenue in New York City in the late 1940s or early 1950s. She used it there, in Greater Victoria, including at her house Journey’s End, and possibly also in Europe where she sometimes travelled and lived. Sometime before or after her death, she gave or bequeathed the coat to her brother’s daughter, Laura Marion Dunsmuir, also known as Mrs. Sydney Robert Mitchell. Mrs. Mitchell subsequently gave the coat to her daughter, Dolaura Mitchell, also known as Mrs. Charles Boas. Mrs. Boas then gave the coat to her mother’s sister’s daughter, who donated it to Craigdarroch Castle in 2024. 

Date

1940s

Dimensions

98.5 x 52 x 13.5 cm
52 cm wide at shoulders 63 cm length of arms

Material

Fur

Brand Name

Saks - Fifth Avenue

Technique

Tanned; Stitched

Country of Origin

United States of America