Fig. 31. Eskimo man’s deerskin coat (back.)
The Innuit of the southern shore of the western end of Hudson Strait often cut the coat open in front as far up as the breast (Figs. 30 and 31, No. 3224). The favorite material for these coats is the skin of the reindeer, three good-sized skins being required to make a full-sized coat for a man. Coats made of light summer skins are used as underclothing in winter and for the only body clothing in summer. The skin of the harp seal (Phoca grœnlandica) is also used for coats, but only when the supply of reindeerskin runs short, or when a man can afford to have an extra coat to wear in wet weather. It is not a very good material for clothing, as the skin is roughly tanned, and no amount of working will render it more than moderately pliable. Figs. 32 and 33 represent a sealskin coat. These coats are often trimmed round the edges with fringes of deerskin 2 or 3 inches wide, or little pendants of ivory.
Fig. 32. Eskimo man’s sealskin coat (front).
Fig. 33.—Eskimo man’s sealskin coat (side).
The collection contains eleven of these coats, Nos. 3221, 3498-3500, and 3558 of deerskin, and Nos. 3228, 3533-3537 of sealskin.