Fig. 89.—The postilion of a Lord Mayor of London, wearing a crest upon his cap, and a coat of arms upon his sleeve. (Copied by permission from a plate published by the John Williamson Co., Ltd.)
We may conclude our remarks upon this fascinating subject by alluding to a case in which a crest is actually borne on the head. It will be seen on looking at Figure [89], which represents the postilion of a Lord Mayor of London, that he wears upon his jockey cap the actual crest of his master, in the same way that in the days of chivalry the knights wore their crests upon their helmets. On his sleeve also there is a full coat of arms with helmet and crest, which takes the place of the badge, and is similar to the instances which we have mentioned just above.
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GLOVES AND MITTENS
ORIGIN OF THE BABY’S GLOVE—FOURCHETTES—THE “POINTS” ON THE BACKS OF GLOVES
Gloves play a considerable part in our everyday life, and now exercise a kind of mild tyranny over us. It is perhaps not to be wondered at, seeing the importance which has been attached to these protectors of the hand in the past.
Records show that in the earliest gloves there were no divisions between the fingers, and only the thumbs had a separate covering. This is what one might have expected to be the case, and if we look at the gloves which tiny babies wear (see Figure [90]), we shall find a similar state of affairs, so that here we have a direct survival from very early times.