Sir James Hamet Dunn

Sir James Hamet Dunn was born on October 29th, 1874 in the village of St. Peter's near Bathurst, New Brunswick. At the end of the 19th century, Dunn had established himself as an extremely successful financier and industrialist. His exploits not only made an impact on Canada but in England as well. In 1921, Dunn was knighted by King George of England due to his wartime efforts for the British Empire during WWI.

For the event of Sir James Hamet Dunn's knighting he had a London tailor make for him a special suit which is now on display at the Bathurst Museum. The jacket is of particular interest since it is styled after a tail-coat which gained popularity at the beginning of the 19th century. This type of coat is distinguished by the central closure of fancy buttons along with a collar and reveres buttoned high on the chest. Since this is a single-breasted jacket, it is cut away in the front in a sloping line at the hips with a long tail which reaches to behind the knees in the back. Though the popularity of this style of coat diminished during the late 19th century, this type of attire remains popular even today for formal occasions.