Mark Hutter at Colonial Williamsburg gave a lecture on fragments of a trade coat found in a brass pot at a burial site. These fragments were mostly the areas where the metal lace had been applied, but from that he could discern the shape of the original coat. But for research, I found his talk to be fascinating. I think he gave this lecture at the last Costume Society of America national conference. Good luck. Becky Fifield Rebecca L. Fifield Collections Care Specialist Department of Textile and Fashion Arts Museum of Fine Arts, Boston www.mfa.org -----Original Message----- From: Elizabeth Eubanks [mailto:[log in to unmask]] Sent: Tuesday, December 12, 2000 5:17 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Looking for Chief's/Trade coats Hello, Does anyone have or know of an extant Chief's coat, also known as Trade coats? I am doing research on these coats, which were manufactured for and traded to the Native Americans. They were usually made in the military style in blue or red wool, often with contrasting facings, and lots of metallic trim. Lewis and Clark mention giving one to a Sioux chief and list them in their inventory. They are also listed in numerous fur trade company inventories. Several archeological examples have been found, one of which got me interested in them to start with. To date, however, I have not found an extant one that is unaltered from it's original manufacture by traders. The only one I know of is heavily embellished with beadwork (in the collection of Harvard's Peabody Museum). Thanks to all for any help on this. Also, if you know of another group where this query might be appropriate, please let me know. Beth Eubanks National Museum of Natural History Smithsonian Institution ========================================================Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes). ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).