Salesman's Sample (Waistcoat Pocket)
1780-1810
Probably France, Lyon
France
The survival of thousands of small embroidery samples for men’s suits and coats indicates the scope and scale of the Lyonnaise embroidery workshops specializing in men’s fashion. Patterns were marketed both domestically in France and throughout Europe. Indeed, French taste so dominated European fashion that when foreign diplomats came to France, they felt obliged to buy the latest styles in Paris before they appeared at court.
Silk, warp-float faced satin weave; appliquéd with silk, satin weave; embroidered with silk floss and silk yarns in outline, satin, single satin and stem stitches; French knots and paper paillettes; printed