Objects Database

Long johns

Accession Number

169.2008.1

Object Name

Long johns

Created

15/10/2008

Creator

Hermione Cooper

Accession Date

15/10/2008

Brief Description

Woollen long johns. Three white plastic buttons and two safety pins on flies. Waistband lined with flannel. Four taped loops on front of waist.

Materials

wool, flannel , tape

Dimensions

104(l) x 45(w) cms. 73 (Inside leg ) cms.

Number Of Objects

1

Colour

grey

Provenance

Not a lot you can say about a pair of long johns - and it gets worse as we don't know where this pair came from and there's no maker's name.
Of a little more interest perhaps is where the name 'Long John's' comes from, and whilst there is never a definitive answer with such things, the consensus is that the progenitor is John L. Sullivan, last of the great bare knuckle fighters (1858-1918) An American born heavyweight boxer, Sullivan always wore a form of long thermal pants when fighting, and the name of Long John's is thought to have derived from this. That thermal underwear has been around for a long, long time we are sure, and no doubt will be for some time yet.

Acquisition Date

15/10/2008

Condition Check Date

28/04/2009

Rules

Spectrum : UK Museum documentation standard, V.3.1 2007

Modified

28/04/2009

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