15th Madras Infantry, officer’s coatee of the East India Company period

The scarlet coatee of the 15th Madras Infantry has extensive damage to the back above the waist but has the merit of having the epaulettes, which are almost always lacking from the few coatees that do appear these days. This example retains 36 of the original large buttons, lacking the bottom two on the left front. The lining above the waist is largely lacking. The fact that the principal damage is to the back and the lining of the uniform means that it can still make an impressive display when viewed as usual from the front. This coatee has buttons with the London maker’s backmark HAMBURGER & Co. KING ST. COVENT GARDEN and the uniform has distinctive orange facings and golf lacce. Some interesting variations can be noted from another Madras tunic of the 15th also hhown in this category, particularly in the grouping of the buttons on the tails and differing sizes of those on the cuff lace.   may1/2