A Dressing Gown

In September 1999 the existence of a possible item of Bentham's clothing was brought to our notice-a dressing gown, made out of cotton with a delicate floral pattern in a Japanese style on a pale yellow background, which, according to a tradition within the family who now own it, once belonged to Jeremy Bentham. The garment certainly bears a striking resemblance to the one Bentham wears in the print by Robert Seymour entitled 'Kings College Versus London University', Catalogue entry No 22, pp.44-5.

The dressing gown is now being examined at the Textile Conservation Unit based at the University of Southampton, who have previously carried out conservation work on the Auto-Icon, and we hope to be able to publish a note of their findings when completed.