This double-breasted red wool coatee is an 1830 pattern and was worn by an officer in the Royal Marines. The collar and front of the coat are edged with a piping of twisted silk threads. There are two rows of buttonholes, indicating that the jacket could be buttoned on either side – this was to minimize wear on the fabric. At the top left edge of the coat, above the top buttonhole, is a brass hook, which would have fastened to a loop of detached buttonhole stitch above the top button on the right-hand side of the coat. This would have been used to secure the edge when the coat was buttoned and indicates that this was the preferred way for the wearer to have fastened it.

The fit of the coat is extremely tight and would most likely have required a corset to ensure the proper fit. The sleeves are gathered at the shoulder and terminate in a very tight mariner’s cuff. The coat is lined with red silk and the chest is padded to create a rounded effect. The sleeves are lined with white silk twill and both have an inscription in brown ink on the shoulders: ‘L.O.’

The back features two gilt brass hip buttons and on the tails, at the bottom of each, is a stylised turn back of white over red, secured with a badge of laurel leaves below a fouled anchor, below a crown in purl backed by blue wool.