U.S. Issue Spanish American War 2nd Lt. of the Artillery Coat

U.S. Issue Spanish American War 2^nd Lt. of the Artillery Coat – This coat is a great example of an American artillery officer’s issue coat, dating to the late 1890s into the early 1900s. The black wool coat is trimmed in a worsted, woven wool; the rank boards are single bullion each with a deep red wool center. There are eight, hard composition, plain buttons on the front of the coat; three sheet iron, japanned hooks for the attachment of a starched collar, appear on the inside of the collar itself. The interior lining is a black, ribbed silk; the sleeve linings are striped cotton. The label of the tailors/ makers of the coat is sewn into the upper back – “Rosenfeld & Rapkin / Boston, Mass.”* The coat remains in excellent condition.

*Rosenfeld and Rapkin, of Boston, Massachusetts traded under that name, from 1900 to 1920; they are listed in Bedzek’s “American Swords and Sword Makers”; they sold M1902 sabers to U.S. Army officers. They made uniforms, as well, until 1920.