Dressed to Kill, Dressed to Till
Horace Elmer (1846-1898) was born in New Jersey and entered the U.S Naval Academy in 1861. He served with distinction during the Civil War and held numerous commands of importance. Promoted to Commander in 1885, he commanded the USS Kearsage of CSS Alabama battle fame, later leading the Mosquito Fleet in the Spanish American War. Elmer contracted pneumonia in April 1898 and died in New York later the same month. Provenance: by descent in the Elmer family to noted maritime collector Welles Henderson; acquired from Henderson Collection in 2008. Two white service coats of cotton duck with white braid trim (one bearing his name inked inside the collar) and three service waistcoats, also of duck with grommet holes for the placement of buttons, accompany the coats. One of the vests still retains its mother-of-pearl buttons.
Share this lot:
