F.J. Schmidt Co.(retailer), cloak, Annapolis, Md., ca. 1916

Clothing/Dress/Costume

-

Portsmouth Historical Society

Name/Title

F.J. Schmidt Co.(retailer), cloak, Annapolis, Md., ca. 1916

Entry/Object ID

2024.019

Description

Man's black cloak with black silk lining and black velvet collar. Maker’s printed tag on inside of right breast pocket “F.J. Schmidt Co. / Military Tailors / Annapolis” with a continuation in ink in cursive that reads “M A.H. Rice”; underneath that in ink is “Date 29-11-16 USN”; outside of the same pocket is a white tag with “614” in ink. On the left pocket, there is a tag in poor condition with orange on black decoration, with possibly a cursive “A” at left and an “R” at right.

Acquisition

Accession

2024.019

Source or Donor

Rice, John

Acquisition Method

Gift

Credit Line

Gift of the Rice Family

Made/Created

Manufacturer

F.J. Schmidt Co., Military Tailors

Date made

circa 1916

Place

City

Annapolis

State/Province

Maryland

Country

United States of America

Continent

North America

Dimensions

Length

46-3/4 in

Provenance

Notes

By family tradition, this cloak belonged to Dr. Moritz Emile Richter (1825-1907) of Portsmouth, a distinguished physician, who was born in Germany and studied at Leipzig University. He came to this country in 1851 and later lived in the Larkin-Rice house on Middle Street and had offices on Austin Street and then later on State Street. A tag on the garment suggests, however, that the family may have moved the history back a generation, and that it was acquired by Arthur Hopkins Rice (1883- 1932), a captain in the U.S. Navy, in ca. 1916. He married Ellnora Ingebretsen Richter (1885-1981), daughter of Dr. Richter and Josephine Jenness, in 1911.  The cloak descended in the family to the donor.