Embroidered Chinese reversible fur coat.
The coat is in a generally good condition, but it does have some marks and stains, so please examine the pictures carefully.
Captain L.C.E. Ayre RN (Royal Navy) was the Secretary to Admiral Waistell who was Commander in Chief China Station from 1929 to 1931. He travelled all over China with the Admiral, and in the first fortnight of October 1930 was a guest of the Minister (Sir Miles Lampson) in the British Legation in Peking. He kept a diary every day and this is the entry for Saturday 11 October 1930 (footnotes added later):
Saturday 11 October 1930 (Peking) Mr George[1] (Commercial Secretary) very kindly lent me one of his cars in the forenoon, so Hickling and I took Mrs Deas and Mrs Story[2] to assist us in buying fur coats. I got a white one[3] for $40 (£2-7-0). Worked in the afternoon. Tea at the Peking hotel, after which Flags hired a car & with Mrs Story we did more shopping. Dined at the Hotel du Nord.
[1] Sir Anthony Hastings George (1886-1944).
[2] Elizabeth Jessie Lock (b. 1897) was the 2nd daughter of Rev Dr Walter Lock (1846-1933), the Oxford theologian. She was a talented artist who made etchings. She married Duncan Story in 1919, but he died in 1926 aged 30.
[3] A reversible white fur coat with a richly embroidered lining. (this coat being sold)