Impressions Post war old west impression

[CantonGa61]

Those are some great impressions! Thanks for posting. If you're ever going to be at Ft Richardson, let me know. My ranch is 12 miles down the road on 4.

I'll take you up on that next time I'm up that way. Thanks!

phil

 

[gary]

Now I know about the Green Frog Cafe.

The Muzzle loading crowd (NMLRA) would frequent Judy's International Cafe for b-fast. For "international" there was just the sole location at Bowling Green, Kentucky. Tornado took it out.

 

[johan_steele]

OK, some body 'splain a "Green Frog Breakfast" to me.

Johan - you look like a respectable businessman in them thar threads.

To quote an 1870's newspaper article: "I may wear a top hat and own a whorehouse but I'm no politician." Proving political corruption is nothing new.

 

[gary]

Gerrymandering goes back to Athens.

 

[CantonGa61]

Here are a few of my mid 1870's impression. As for the pistol… it's the weapon of the dandy. I much prefer a rifle. Please forgive my more modern spectacles as in each case pictures were taken of me either as I was packing up or had left the event!



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I've been studying your attire; it suits the purpose. I'll vote for you should you choose to run for office!

phil

 

[DoctorKingSchultz]

I've been working almost exclusively in the civilian arena for most of my living history career, generally in the 1855-1875 time frame, and would like to offer the following for you to consider:

Careful study of period photographs will reveal that many of our notions regarding the appearance of men in that era have been heavily tainted by the efforts of the movie industry, so frequent reference to reliably dated photography or non-tabloid artwork will prove helpful.. With that as a starting point, a Civil War era sack suit, or any portion thereof, would work well for your impression as would almost any other item of civilian attire that you can date to the period 1861 to 1865. If your impression is that of a recently de-mobbed soldier you might still have a piece or two of issue clothing but that becomes exponentially less likely the further away you move from April 9th, 1865. You didn't mention which side of the fence your soldier was on but I would suggest you strongly avoid transitioning any Confederate attire to your impression.

Military boots will work just fine but so will brogans or any other sort of period appropriate shoe or boot, and careful study of photography will show that trouser legs are as likely to be worn outside the boot as they are shotgunned inside the boot shaft, even when spurs are worn.

The Remington would be a fine choice for a firearm, but not everyone in the old west went around carrying a gun; that's yet another legacy of the movie industry's impact of our understanding of an historical period. You might be better served with a long arm, or even no weapon at all, until you begin fine tuning your impression.

Allow me to share a couple of images taken of myself portraying exactly the year(s) you've mentioned:

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This was taken at Fort Lancaster, in West Texas, several months ago. Clearwater hat, Sekela shirt, and SUM civilian vest. The unseen trousers are SUM corduroys sans waistband. No spurs and my pant legs are outside the shafts of my boots. Time period 1865-66.

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This shot was taken at Fort Concho, also in West Texas, about 6 months ago. A different beat-up old Clearwater hat this time and another Sekela shirt, along with a SUM handkerchief used as a bandana and the same SUM corduroys. Boots are generic Missouri Boot and Shoe worn outside the pant legs in the first photo snd shotgunned inside them in this one. Please note that the spur straps shown here work just fine for the year I was portraying at Concho (1876) but would be inappropriate for your target date. As an aside, I often wear a belt with a harness buckle rather than braces when my attire doesn't include a vest, and note that neither impression includes a revolver or any other firearm. The devil's in the details, and your material culture opportunities become almost endless once you leave military service!

Could you please post a photo or two of your outfit once you get it put together? I'd like very much to see your take on the time period!

Best,,
phil

Brilliant post! And brilliant impressions, thoroughly enjoyed the read here... and great advice. I myself got into the whole thing from constantly seeing depictions and movies set around the era which hardly ever really "look like the pictures" so to speak. I tailor, and there are many entirely free manuals and journals from all throughout the century on Google Docs and the likes of the Library of Congress. I'm glad to see this.

 

[DoctorKingSchultz]

Yes, it was about the Mexican American War era and had a single row of butttons and swallow tails. Dark blue. We were told tight fitting clothing for the military was the fashion of the era. It gave the wearer a military bearing.

This was during Conner's Prairie (Fishers, Indiana) Arms Making Workshop and we (the students) always asked for extra (guests or curator) talks or show 'n tells from the collection. The staff was always happy to accomodate us. It's been decades since I've been to one (don't travel as much now).

Rather than a military look, the fitting is largely complementary to (and influenced by) civilian clothing. Mexican-American War menswear is all the same, sleeves are very tight and most coats are heavily structured - as had been the case, largely the past 7 decades since the Revolution through various generations of fashions. As a side-note to good civilian impressions, as already mentioned - it is very good to be able to identify images, for I very often see very clearly 1840s daguerreotypes being described as being potentially nearby the Civil War; 1840s and 1860s male fashions in practice happen to, more or less be complete opposites in every detail! Be it hairstyle lengths, hats, tie widths etc. so not interchangeable.

i.e. late 1830s, but relevant:

Catching Rabbits, 1839. William Sidney Mount, oil on canvas. Long Island Museum.

Or see any 1840s fashion plates:
Fashion et Théorie, printed by Leroy, Paris, 1848

Or heck, on the topic in general of the Mexican-American War; see any statesman, i,e, Polk himself:

Not hard to identify coats from the era:

the tight fitting of sleeves had nothing to do with presenting a military appearance - although, well-tailored dress uniforms were, as was the case in 1865 and 1940. A roomy sleeve in 1847 looks highly untailored when every man, young or old has had fitted sleeves as far as they could remember.

Likewise in the opposite way, it is not hard to see examples of particular issued Arsenals/Depots or private purchase, alterations in the Civil War with the balloon sleeve (also called the C-shape/D-shape/curve sleeve) to make them more fashionable; the fairly old fashioned P1851 pattern post-Mexico US Army shells stick out like a sore thumb compared to 1860s fashions, as do a lot of army issue because of the fact the P1858s were already unfashionable in appearance; and yet, any example of a well-fitting Civil War standard uniform still looks very different to a well-fitting Mexican War equivalent, and still show the differences in styles already by the 1850s, i.e. the "tube sleeve" that eventually gave way to the balloon sleeve; the tall collars, tight sleeves are the fashion of the 1840s.

 

[CantonGa61]

Brilliant post! And brilliant impressions, thoroughly enjoyed the read here... and great advice. I myself got into the whole thing from constantly seeing depictions and movies set around the era which hardly ever really "look like the pictures" so to speak. I tailor, and there are many entirely free manuals and journals from all throughout the century on Google Docs and the likes of the Library of Congress. I'm glad to see this.

Thank you, Sir, and much appreciated!

phil