Officer 1814

This miniature is dated 1814 and is by Horace Hone ARA. The Bonhams sale catalogue, from which the picture was taken, states that the sitter is the Hon William Crofton. But Crofton was a Grenadier officer and was killed at Bayonne in April 1814. The officer here has an epaulette which means that he is in a Battalion company.
The coat he wears is the frock and is scarlet with blue cloth collar, lapels and cuffs. The strap of the epaulette reaches half way up his collar which indicates that there must be a button on the collar. Perhaps he had unusually narrow shoulders because there is no other portrait showing this. The lapels of his coat are partially buttoned over so that only the bottom two buttons are fastened, allowing a glimpse of white shirt below the gorget. Usually there are more buttons fastened as in the portrait of Colonel Gomm. We cannot see if the buttons are grouped in pairs but we can tell that he is Coldstream Guards because of his Belt-plate with garter star badge and his special pattern Gorget. The shirt collar is worn high on his cheeks in the fashion of the period and his black stock ensures that his chin is kept well up.

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