My first piece of mail. I was wandering the Baltimore Arms Fair and I was looking at a two piece morion and this shirt of mail. In retrospect, I probably shouldn't have bought either one at the price, but this was more interesting. I have since learned a lot more about mail, but it still isn't my area of expertise. Many first purchases will likely not be the smartest, and buying outside of the areas you know is always challenging.
Mail shirt 17th century
Mail Shirt, probably Eastern European. Formed of varying size and thickness rings. The rings over the chest are much heavier than those in the skirt and sleeves. Formed of alternate rows of riveted and solid rings. The rings are 3/8in i.d. The rings at the chest are much thicker than those at the edges. There is a rectangular patch of finer mail under the arm pit. The rings have a roughly 'wankel' cross section. App. 31 inches long. Opens down the entire front. Details show rings from the collar, chest and skirt. Detail images with scale are on an inch scale. [inv. num. M-1]