|
Post by spence on Oct 7, 2020 8:00:53 GMT -7
Wearing just a handkerchief on the head:
John Cuppy interview with Lyman Draper... "Spy dress- a handkerchief around the spies head of any color…
_The border settlers of northwestern Virginia from 1768 to 1795 : embracing the life of Jesse Hughes and other noted scouts of the great woods of the trans-Allegheny_, by McWhorter, Lucullus Virgil: "When scouting, his dress consisted only of the long hunting shirt, belted at the waist, open leggings, moccasins, and a brimless cap; or a handkerchief bound about his head."
The Pennsylvania Gazette June 11, 1747 Philadelphia Run away....has his hair close or shaved, and wears sometimes a black wig, and other times a handkerchief or white linnen cap,
I have nothing about a handkerchief under a hat, but there are many references to a cap under a hat:
The Pennsylvania Gazette March 25, 1731 Had on a good Felt Hat, a Cap under it,
The Pennsylvania Gazette July 13, 1738 [servant] He is a short downlook'd Irishman, muttering in Speech; wearing a Felt Hat upon a Cap
Spence
|
|
|
Post by brokennock on Oct 7, 2020 14:26:00 GMT -7
Thank you Spence, I know those were included in the one's I've seen, but, this helps. I am trying to find again many of the things I know I've seen in this and other subjects and save them in a more organized manner.
Do you have any more references to shaved heads?
|
|
ewoaf
City-dweller
Posts: 203
|
Post by ewoaf on Oct 7, 2020 16:28:19 GMT -7
Going correct does take time and it'll never happen overnight, and you'll be lucky to get close within a decade. No one ever reaches 100% because there's usually some fine print involved with living in our modern time. It's also expensive, but fabric isn't. I wouldn't pay 300 for a coat either, but there was a time that I paid 250, but that time has passed. I could make myself a great linen frock or hunting shirt for as little as $50, but not overnight. Maybe in a day if I tried. You'll get there if you want to.
Cotton actually is the way to go for dyeing as linen can be hell to dye, especially for your target colour. You're spot on for using something like you did for that experiment. White cotton shirts did exist in the colonies, more specifically in the south as a summer shirt.
In the above citations you'll see the first subject wearing a handkerchief OR a scarf. The other two reference a hat over cap, but not a hat over scarf or handkerchief. I'm fully on board with handkerchief worn on the head being much more common than some would argue, as I pushed the issue myself before. Yet my previous statement stands.
There was certainly commonality with hand me downs as well as thrift shops, so it's certainly plausible one of a certain quality might have on an ill fitting garment. A well fit garment feels so much better, and I'm not sure that weskit fits anyone. It's an issue that's overlooked because it's not usually discussed. We look at portraits and illustrations and we think we get it just right but then it just doesn't look the same. It's the cut and fit that really makes things pop into looking right, but they feel right too. In encourage anyone to chase that experience. Limitations don't have to be permanent.
|
|
|
Post by spence on Oct 7, 2020 17:03:04 GMT -7
brokennock said: "Do you have any more references to shaved heads?"
Only a few, of various sorts.
The Pennsylvania Gazette July 23, 1752 Run away....Robert Porter, born in the north of Ireland, about 5 feet 7 inches high, pale visage, fair skin, his head shaved, slender made, with an innocent countenance:"
The Pennsylvania Gazette July 24, 1766 RUN away… John Leary, a Caulker, born in England, a lusty Man, about five Feet eight Inches high, of a ruddy Complexion, wore his own dark brown Hair, shaved back to the Crown of his Head, has thick Lips, a large Mouth, and lisps much in his Speech, had on, when he went away, a blue Jacket, much tarred, a Pair of long Ozenbrigs Trowsers, a small Felt hat, a Check or Ozenbrigs shirt, having both with him.
The Pennsylvania Gazette
Philadelphia, July 7, 1772. RAN away, ....a servant man, named HOPKINS DRIVER, by trade a blacksmith, about 35 years of age, about five feet high, has a thin face, pale look, bowed thighs, sore shins, and is in particular broken belly; the front part of his head newly shaved, wears a brown wig, very much pock marked, was born in London, is very fond of strong liquor, and excessive talkative about his work.
The Pennsylvania Gazette December 31, 1788 NEW YORK, December 24. We are happy to inform the public, that two of the robbers who broke into the house in Maiden lane have since been taken, which, it is hoped, will be the means of detecting the remainder, and rid this metropolis of a set of villains which at present infest it. It appears that they are a part of the wheelbarrow gentry* from Philadelphia, and which lately struck so much terror in the inhabitants of that city, as one of the above had his head shaved, to disguise which he had false hair compleatly made for that purpose.
*A Pennsylvania law of 1786 specified punishment by ‘continued hard labour, publicly and disgracefully imposed...in streets of cities and towns, and upon highways of the open country’. The criminals sentenced to this public labour became known as Wheelbarrow Men. With iron shackles and chains, shaved heads and coarse uniforms marked with letters to indicate the crime they had committed, they cleaned and repaired the streets of Philadelphia and the surrounding towns.
Whenever I search my database for the term 'shave' I run across this one about shaving the face, and it breaks me up. Newspapers of the 18th century are a never-ending source of entertainment.
The New York Gazette or the Weekly Post-Boy January 5, 1756 "Wigs.--Me givee de Avertisement to every body of New-York . . .Yes, dammee, me advertisee for makee de Vig, Cuttee and curlee de Hair, dressee and shavee de Beard of the Ghentleman, selle de Pomate, and de Powdre, so sweet for de Hair, and de Vig, for makee de bon Approach to de Madam-moselle.
N.B. Me makee all in de Bon Taste, Alamode de Paris; and me no chargee above three Hundred per Cent. more dan all the Workmans in Town.
Me havee de Prises so. For dressee de Hair, # 0 6 6 For Curlee de Hair, 0 4 0 For Cuttee de Hair, 0 6 6 For makee de Bag, 0 10 6 For makee de Ramille, de Half of de Pistole. For makee de Toupee, de Half of de Pistole. For Von Stick de Pomat. # 0 2 6 For Von Bottle de Lavender 0 4 0
And so in de Proportion.--"
[ramille is a type of wig popular with the military throughout the 18th century, consisting of a plaited pigtail with a tie or ribbon at both top and bottom.]
[The pistole, a common coin in Virginia, at least until the 1760s, was a Spanish gold coin, sometimes called a doubloon. By the mid eighteenth century, a pistole was worth almost a pound (.83), or a little over 18 shillings. The term pistole sometimes also referred to the French gold louis d'or, minted in the late seventeenth century and worth anywhere from 18 shillings to slightly more than a pound (and also called a French guinea). Since the colonists were not allowed to coin their own money, they usually had to use such foreign coins. As one of the most common circulating coins used in the first half of the eighteenth century, the pistole became a primary medium of exchange.]
Spence
|
|
|
Post by paranger on Oct 7, 2020 17:32:18 GMT -7
Soldiers (even officers) also often shaved their heads on campaign to minimize vermin.
|
|
|
Post by spence on Oct 8, 2020 12:04:32 GMT -7
Just a trivial, arcane, useless fact...ewoaf said: "A well fit garment feels so much better, and I'm not sure that weskit fits anyone." The term 'weskit' for waistcoat was first recorded 1855-60, spelled that way because apparently that's the way it was pronounced.
Spence
|
|
|
Post by artificer on Oct 10, 2020 10:19:55 GMT -7
Nock,
I think I understand your concern. In my case, when I went hunting and hunter orange was required, I didn't wear my period clothing and gear other than what is needed to keep the gun operating.
When I went to events or matches when it was cold, I kept the clothing material, style and material as correct as possible, though I admit I had modern thermal or polypropylene underneath where it didn't show when I needed it and did not have enough period clothing to keep me warm. That has been a problem for some time for me, having served in many places in the world, where I lost my resistivity to cold.
Gus
|
|
|
Post by brokennock on Oct 11, 2020 2:32:39 GMT -7
Gus. I am trying very hard to not wear modern thermals under my period clothes this year. I should be able to do it as I still hunt more and sit still less with the muzzleloader than I do with the bow. And I'm hoping the matchcoat will make a big difference when I am sitting.
If I wear the thermal underwear, I loose what it was like to keep warm in period clothing. I don't think the color of a shirt effects that. Material does, how to keep quiet in some period clothing/materials can be an issue. I would live to feel some "lindsey/woolsy" fabric, maybe get a hunting shirt made of it if it feels like I think it will. A cotton or linen hunting short is a lot more noisy than I normally except while hunting.
One thing I think we should all keep in mind in these discussions is each of our individual "practical" applications of our endeavors. I don't present to the public, if I did color of clothing would definitely matter, and, I would be spending a lot more money as I would be a lot more meticulous in exactly the right cut, fit, and style of clothes. Would I like to be able to do both? Sure. And I think it can be done.
I look to those who do present to the public as examples of the upper end of what is possible in recreating the material goods of the mid to late 18th century.
Sorry, it's 05:30 hours and I feel like I'm rambling....
|
|
|
Post by Black Hand on Oct 11, 2020 5:32:42 GMT -7
Brokennock, I feel the same way as you and prefer the full experience and challenge with period clothes.
I truly dislike being cold and have learned what works for me. A very long time ago, I made a long pullover shirt from a surplus blanket for winter wear. One would think I would be warm. The contrary was true - even though the shirt was made from a blanket, it was uncomfortable, needed to be put on over the head and not as warm as I thought it should be. Years later, I took this shirt apart, re-tailored it to a sleeved waistcoat and lined it with thin cotton drop-cloth canvas (funds were tight). The difference in comfort and most especially warmth was immediately noticeable. The Waistcoat was MUCH warmer, even when worn over the same clothes I had worn previously with the wool overshirt. A period garment worked better than a non-period garment, even when using the same materials.
I will admit to wearing modern polypropylene thermals under my period clothes one time. I was ill with a cold and was at a weekend event where we did some instruction - I was miserable and couldn't stay warm. Even so, they thermals could not be seen and I made sure of this...
|
|
|
Post by artificer on Oct 11, 2020 23:57:01 GMT -7
Soldiers (even officers) also often shaved their heads on campaign to minimize vermin. That's correct. Also, I think this is in " A Soldier Like Way," Scottish Soldiers who could not grow enough hair or lost hair from wounds or disease - were expected to shave their heads and sew a hair piece to the rear of their bonnets to match the prescribed dressing of hair.
Some more affluent men also wound up shaving their heads in their middle or later years, so their wigs would fit better. They wore various insundry caps or head wraps at home, when not wearing their wigs. Considering some of the noxious and even poisonous things they used on wigs to ensure they would not become infested with vermin, it was a pretty dangerous choice they made for fashion and stature.
Gus
|
|
|
Post by artificer on Oct 12, 2020 0:21:32 GMT -7
Gus. I am trying very hard to not wear modern thermals under my period clothes this year. I should be able to do it as I still hunt more and sit still less with the muzzleloader than I do with the bow. And I'm hoping the matchcoat will make a big difference when I am sitting. If I wear the thermal underwear, I loose what it was like to keep warm in period clothing. I don't think the color of a shirt effects that. Material does, how to keep quiet in some period clothing/materials can be an issue. I would live to feel some "lindsey/woolsy" fabric, maybe get a hunting shirt made of it if it feels like I think it will. A cotton or linen hunting short is a lot more noisy than I normally except while hunting. One thing I think we should all keep in mind in these discussions is each of our individual "practical" applications of our endeavors. I don't present to the public, if I did color of clothing would definitely matter, and, I would be spending a lot more money as I would be a lot more meticulous in exactly the right cut, fit, and style of clothes. Would I like to be able to do both? Sure. And I think it can be done. I look to those who do present to the public as examples of the upper end of what is possible in recreating the material goods of the mid to late 18th century. Sorry, it's 05:30 hours and I feel like I'm rambling.... Hi Nock, Please understand I salute you and anyone who wants to stay strictly in period clothing to stay warm n the cold. After I came down with Malaria or whatever it was in Somalia in the early 90's, I was cold all Spring and Summer where we lived in what was a coastal desert northeast of Temecula, CA. It was often 90 degrees to over 100 and I STILL had to wear a heavy shirt and jacket, not to freeze to death. 9 years later when I did a contracting job for the government inventorying various sites, I was walking in the 121 degree heat of the desert in Arizona feeling slightly warm, but comfortable. The guards at one prison we inventoried were amazed it felt 'balmy' to me when it was freaking hot to them. However, I was able to stay warm in December in Virginia that was colder than normal, by wearing my UnCivil War Great Coat over my wool uniform at one event, when everyone else was fine with their wool uniform and maybe some had period long john's underneath. Spence has given quotes about people wearing two pairs of breeches and or trousers in our period to stay warm. Layering period clothes helps a lot, when you have or can afford the period clothing. Gus
|
|
|
Post by brokennock on Oct 12, 2020 6:28:58 GMT -7
I'm aware of men shaving their heads and wearing wigs. I'm wondering about men who just went with a completely shaved head, got any number of reasons.
|
|
|
Post by brokennock on Oct 12, 2020 6:33:45 GMT -7
I'm not saying I haven't, or won't wear thermals to stay warm if needed. I would however like to make a honest try at not not doing so.
For a few reasons I too have a lot of trouble staying warm, especially when sitting still for long periods of time, even when it isn't that cold by most New Englander's standards. Unfortunately clothing doesn't seem to be the issue. I can pile on thermals, wool, fleece, etc, in various layers. Following all the rules for staying warm. My feet will be the only thing not miserable. I just don't seem to produce the heat needed for those layers to hold in.
|
|
|
Post by paranger on Oct 12, 2020 8:09:38 GMT -7
One of the things that pleasantly surprised me when I got into this hobby was just how effective quality pc cold weather gear could be.
In cold weather, I typically wear a linen shirt, wool waistcoat and breeches, and wool blanket coat or properly tailored regimental coat (depending on the desired impression that day), with thick wool stockings and leggings and shearling lined elk hide moccs. If I need another layer, I typically add a wool overshirt from my pack, and if foul weather is expected, I will bring an oilcloth cloak. I have worn this kit down to about 0 degrees F on occasion.
After 4+ years in USSOCOM, I have all the Gucci modern cold weather kit, 8 layer systems, etc. Frankly, aside from being lighter weight, I don't see much of a difference. Add in the fact that wool retains 80% of its insulation value when wet, and it remains the gold standard, IMO.
|
|