Money Vest

Object/Artifact

New Museum Los Gatos

Name/Title

Money Vest

Entry/Object ID

NU 2021.129

Description

A leather vest, with two identical halves. Each half has two pockets, a large one on top and a smaller one below. The pocket flaps have red diamond shapes on them, and are secured to the vest with white buttons. The halves are connected to each other by more stretchy fabric with blue stripes, and there are two partial buckles at the top corners of each half.

Collection

History Collection

Cataloged By

[email protected]

Made/Created

Date made

circa 1850

Time Period

19th Century

Lexicon

Nomenclature 4.0

Nomenclature Secondary Object Term

Belt, Money

Nomenclature Primary Object Term

Belt, Storage

Nomenclature Sub-Class

Personal Carrying & Storage Gear

Nomenclature Class

Personal Gear

Nomenclature Category

Category 03: Personal Objects

Dimensions

Width

10-3/4 in

Length

11-1/4 in

Material

Leather, Fabric

Condition

Overall Condition

Fair

Relationships

Related Person or Organization

Person or Organization

Leland Campbell

Notes

Vest originally belonged to this person's grandfather.

Person or Organization

George Lagomarsino

Notes

Donor

Provenance

Provenance Detail

Gift of George Lagomarsino

Role

Donor

Acquisition Date

1965

Exhibitions

The Los Gatos History Project: Uncovering Untold Stories - Phase 1

The Los Gatos History Project: Uncovering Untold Stories - Phase 2

Interpretative Labels

Label

MONEY VEST Date: ca. 1850 Donated by George Lagomarsino This money vest, also known as a gold porter, was used to hide and secure gold to a miner's body. Gold porters, which also encompassed money belts, were popular throughout the late 1800s. The small pockets in the vest were most often used to carry gold nuggets. Money belts, which were commonly worn with money vests, stored tied leather bags of raw gold dust called pokes. This vest was the first donation to the Museums of Los Gatos in 1965. The donor, George Lagomarsino, had received the money vest in lieu of rent for one of his rental houses on Park Avenue. Born in Colma, CA, Lagomarsino was a retired landowner and businessman who moved to Los Gatos in the mid 1930s.