“Conservative” by the standards of its day, the three-piece suit worn by American statesman and bon vivant Lewis Littlepage (1762–1802) at the court of Catherine the Great is sewn of silk and embroidered with sprays of blue, white, and grey flowers. Neal Hurst, curator of textiles and historic dress at Colonial Williamsburg, comes on our Curious Objects podcast to discuss this colorful garment in connection with Littlepage’s similarly colorful life—from contretemps with American Founding Father John Jay and service in the Spanish Army, to his career as chamberlain to Stanislaw II of Poland. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices