Peter Sanderson was an Edinburgh tailor who worked for

Anne of Denmark Anne of Denmark (; 12 December 1574 – 2 March 1619) was the wife of King James VI and I. She was List of Scottish royal consorts, Queen of Scotland from their marriage on 20 August 1589 and List of English royal consorts, Queen of Engl ...

wife of

James VI of Scotland James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until ...

Tailoring in the 1580s

He became a burgess of Edinburgh in 1587 by his marriage to Alison or Helena Cranstoun, a daughter of Cuthbert Cranstoun, a furrier. Sanderson's clients in the late 1580s included Christian Douglas, Lady Home, the first wife of

Alexander Home, 1st Earl of Home Alexander Home, 1st Earl of Home and 6th Lord Home (c. 15665 April 1619), was a Scottish nobleman and Lord Warden of the Marches, Lord Warden-general of all the March. He succeeded as the 6th Lord Home, a Lord of Parliament in the Peerage of Scot ...

. Lady Home bought textiles from the merchant John Robertson, which were delivered to her tailors Sanderson and David Lyon. They made gowns and clothes for her, her children, her pages, and other family members. Sanderson added

passementerie Passementerie (, ) or passementarie is the art of making elaborate trimmings or edgings (in French, ) of applied braid, gold or silver cord, embroidery, colored silk, or beads for clothing or furnishings. Styles of passementerie include the tass ...

to her gowns and stiffened and formed the shoulders with grey cloth. The library of the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

has a similar account for textiles bought by Margaret Livingstone.

Working for Anne of Denmark

Anne of Denmark brought a number of household servants and artisans with her from Denmark, including a tailor Paul Rey who made clothes for the queen until the summer of 1591. Three Scottish tailors, Sanderson, Peter Rannald, and William Simpson filled his place. In the 1590s James VI's tailor was Alexander Miller, who replaced James Inglis. The annual wage of the queen's tailor in 1591 was £100 and the foreman tailor had £40. By May 1599, Sanderson received a monthly payment called an "outlivery" of £30 paid from Anne of Denmark's household account (now

National Records of Scotland National Records of Scotland () is a non-ministerial department of the Scottish Government. It is responsible for civil registration, the census in Scotland, demography and statistics, family history, as well as the national archives and hist ...

E31/17). Sanderson made gowns for the queen, and also pairs of baleen bodies of satin lined with green and incarnadine taffeta. He made clothes for several women of the queen's household, as gifts from the queen, including a black velvet wedding gown with gold passementerie for Marie Young, a daughter of the King's former tutor and librarian

Peter Young Peter or Pete Young may refer to: Sports * Peter Dalton Young (1927–2002), English rugby union player * Peter Young (cricketer, born 1961), Australian cricketer * Pete Young (born 1968), American baseball player * Peter Young (rugby league) (fl. ...

. He made clothes for Princess Elizabeth (and a gown for Beatrix Ruthven to wear at Elizabeth's baptism), for Prince Henry,

Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...

, Princes Margaret, and a purple velvet side-coat for Lord Gordon when he was a hostage at court. Accounts of the fabrics supplied to Anne of Denmark and James VI in the 1590s by a Edinburgh merchant

Robert Jousie Robert Jousie (or Joussie or Jowsie or Jossie; died 1626) was a Scottish textile merchant, financier, and courtier. He was involved in the collection and administration of the English subsidy of James VI. Jousie supplied fabrics used at the bapt ...

survive in the

. Jousie worked in partnership with a goldsmith

Thomas Foulis Thomas Foulis (floruit, fl. 1580–1628) was a Scottish goldsmith, mine entrepreneur, and royal financier. Thomas Foulis was an Edinburgh goldsmith and financier, and was involved in the mint and coinage, gold and lead mining, and from May 1591 t ...

administering a subsidy sent by Queen Elizabeth. Sanderson's work is mentioned many times, as in these entries for making two bodices and new sleeves and a bodice for one of the queen's gowns:

Item the 29 of October 1595 deliverit to Peter Sandersone with Sorne ( Søren Johnson) fyve ellis and ane half Spainzie taffetie to be tua pair of balene bodeis __ �38-10s.br>Item the 25 of Januar 1595/6 deliverit to Peter Sandersone thrie ellis and ane halff of blak twa pyle velvot to be new bodeis and slevis to ane velvot goun __ �49./blockquote> Sanderson, or possibly Peter Rannald, made a gown of "double burret" silk for Anne of Denmark in June 1597 loaded with jet
passementerie Passementerie (, ) or passementarie is the art of making elaborate trimmings or edgings (in French, ) of applied braid, gold or silver cord, embroidery, colored silk, or beads for clothing or furnishings. Styles of passementerie include the tass ...
and buttons. The gown was too heavy to wear and she ordered it to be remade with less jet. In May 1599, he made clothes for the two Princesses to wear at Margaret's baptism. In 1600 Sanderson went to law over a debt of £54 owed by Libra Hamilton, Lady Ayton and her husband William Hume, for workmanship and merchandise supplied to Lady Ayton and her daughters and servants. A signed bill from "Peter Sandersoun" for clothes for Princess Elizabeth in 1602 survives at the National Records of Scotland. It includes gowns with "stenting, stiffing, clasps and wire", a
farthingale A farthingale is one of several structures used under Western European women's clothing - especially in the 16th and 17th centuries - to support the skirts in the desired shape and to enlarge the lower half of the body. The fashion originated ...
costing 20 shillings, and with a few items for her brothers and clothes for pages, totals £154 Scots. Items mentioned in the treasurer's accounts made for Princess Elizabeth include; a gown of Spanish taffeta lined with plush, a gown of figured velvet with white on incarnate satin sleeves, and a night gown with a "wyliecoit" petticoat for nightwear. Sanderson went to England after the
Union of Crowns The Union of the Crowns (; ) was the accession of James VI of Scotland to the throne of the Kingdom of England as James I and the practical unification of some functions (such as overseas diplomacy) of the two separate realms under a single i ...
in 1603 and joined the household of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Henry at Oatlands as the court tailor. Another Scottish tailor, Patrick Black, was in the Prince's service in 1605, and Edinburgh town council allowed him to be a burgess despite his absence in London. Peter Rannald, who had been one of the queen's tailors, died in 1609, and his widow Jonnett Birs petitioned for payment of £1,300 Scots from a royal precept dating from 1595. King James asked for confirmation that such an old debt was still outstanding. Sanderson returned to Edinburgh and there are several records of him pursuing bad debts from aristocratic clients. His daughter Anna married John Cunningham, a tailor, in 1613. In 1630 his widow, Helen Cranstoun, petitioned Charles I for unpaid tailoring bills of Anne of Denmark totalling £3000 Scots.''Earl of Stirling's Register'', vol. 2 (Edinburgh, 1885), pp. 440-1.

References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sanderson, Peter Household of Anne of Denmark 16th-century Scottish businesspeople 16th-century Scottish tailors 16th-century fashion Material culture of royal courts