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Post by spence on Nov 27, 2021 8:44:13 GMT -7
Is anyone familiar with the Michael Crow hunting shirt? It's an original held by the Greene Country Historical Society, Greene County,
Pennsylvania, and is quite unlike most other originals I've seen. It is discussed thoroughly by Neal Hurst in his thesis, and there is one photo there, I think. It is made entirely of local materials, hand woven linsey-woolsey. It was made for Crow by his intended for their wedding in 1799.
Spence
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Post by brokennock on Nov 27, 2021 8:48:24 GMT -7
I remember reading about it in Neal Hurst's work, but that is the extent of my familiarity with it.
Why? Do you have some tantalizing new information on it?
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Post by spence on Nov 27, 2021 11:12:41 GMT -7
Nothing new, sorry. The thread about a hunting shirt pattern got me thinking about our approach to the garment and made me wonder how different it was in the day. I've come to believe that we assume too much about them, believing that they were mostly very similar. I've seen heated discussions about the proper way to taper the sleeves, attach fringe, etc., as though there was a standard pattern for them. I'm impressed by how very different the ones which survive are from each other, and the Crow shirt is a perfect example of that.
I think there was a lot of variety in them in the day, that each person making them did it to their own liking, their own experience, need and skill set. For instance, Hurst says the Crow shirt style is basically the same as a woman's bed gown. It figures that Nancy, his fiancee, knew how to make bed gowns and just modified it to fill the present need. As would this fellow described in the Pennsylvania Gazette in 1770:
"....had on, when he went away, an old brown coat, wanting sleeves, a brown sleeveless vest, 2 coarse shirts, old coarse trowsers, old leather breeches, and an old fur hat ; he took with him a coarse sheet, of which it is supposed he will make a hunting shirt; his clothing is meally, having attended a mill since last fall;"
I'm certain his shirt made of a coarse sheet was quite different from the Crow shirt made of hand woven linsey-woolsey by an experienced and very skilled seamstress. Neither had tapered sleeves, I'll wager.
Spence
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Post by brokennock on Nov 27, 2021 16:35:45 GMT -7
"an old brown coat, wanting sleeves, a brown sleeveless vest...."
Isn't that redundant?
Would not a coat "wanting sleeves," be one that doesn't have sleeves, and thus be a vest?
"A sleeveless vest..."? Well,,, um, if it had sleeves, I wouldn't call it a vest.
I believe a had the same argument on, "that other forum," very recently, that we try too hard to make things to the same uniform pattern. Given that things like hunting shirts were either homemade, often by spouses/moms/daughters, or maybe in the case of those made as quick uniforms, by order, for militia units, made by small cottage industry, it would be strange if they were all just alike.
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Post by spence on Nov 27, 2021 21:24:58 GMT -7
Some photos of the Crow shirt to illustrate the personal touch. Wide cape, drop-sleeve construction, fringe only on the edges.  Very long shirt, no real collar, a one-off design of the cuff.   A pocket sewn on the inside, possibly added later.  A very different method of adding the fringe, again not done the usual way by reveling an added strip of cloth or the actual edge of the shirt. Notice the hand woven linsey-woolsey cloth.  Spence |
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Post by Richard on Nov 27, 2021 22:21:23 GMT -7
If old Michael showed up at some current reenactments he might be turned away as not being dressed "historically correct".
Greene County Historical Society is only 45 minutes south of me, and on the way to a place I used to hunt, and had thought to revisit.
Hmmm!
Richard/Grumpa
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Post by brokennock on Nov 28, 2021 5:36:41 GMT -7
It definitely is odd looking to our eyes. I think it really is mostly the shape of the cape though. I betting that at the time, no one gave it a second thought.
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Post by armando on Nov 29, 2021 4:35:04 GMT -7
It definitely is odd looking to our eyes. I think it really is mostly the shape of the cape though. I betting that at the time, no one gave it a second thought. It looks like that cape could be flipped over the head like an Eastern Woodlands hood. What do you think? I've always thought that was the design idea behind this cape. |
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Post by brokennock on Nov 29, 2021 8:52:37 GMT -7
It definitely is odd looking to our eyes. I think it really is mostly the shape of the cape though. I betting that at the time, no one gave it a second thought. It looks like that cape could be flipped over the head like an Eastern Woodlands hood. What do you think? I've always thought that was the design idea behind this cape. It's an interesting idea, but, honestly, I kind of doubt it. Someone about it just says to me that this was the pattern she had, so it is what she used. What would pull the sides of the cape around the side of the head and face if flipped up for use as a hood? |
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Post by Black Hand on Nov 29, 2021 17:20:48 GMT -7
A cape would drive me up a wall - all that fabric to get in the way and flapping in the wind...
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Post by brokennock on Nov 29, 2021 20:24:05 GMT -7
A cape would drive me up a wall - all that fabric to get in the way and flapping in the wind... But how else would you leap tall buildings in a single bound? |
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coot
City-dweller
Posts: 156
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Post by coot on Nov 29, 2021 20:51:36 GMT -7
A cape offers a little extra warmth around the shoulders and an extra layer to help shed water. My greatcoat has two capes.
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Post by Black Hand on Nov 29, 2021 21:00:38 GMT -7
My greatcoat has a single cape and a tall collar. However I don't often wear it except at drive up camps when around camp.
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Post by Black Hand on Nov 29, 2021 21:01:46 GMT -7
A cape would drive me up a wall - all that fabric to get in the way and flapping in the wind... But how else would you leap tall buildings in a single bound? Using my winning personality and unbearable handsomeness...  |
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Post by brokennock on Nov 30, 2021 2:13:33 GMT -7
But how else would you leap tall buildings in a single bound? Using my winning personality and unbearable handsomeness... 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 |
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