Author Archives: kittycalash

Pinner Aprons

23 Thursday Jan 2014

Posted by in Clothing, History, Laundry, Making Things, Reenacting, Research

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Mr & Mrs Thomas Sandby. Watercolor by Paul Sandby. RCIN 917875, Royal Collection Trust.

Mr & Mrs Thomas Sandby. Watercolor by Paul Sandby. RCIN 917875, Royal Collection Trust.

On Saturday, Sew 18th Century and I went out for lunch and fabric shopping. Along the way, I brought up pinner aprons, and that I’d seen them in British prints. She said, “You should blog about that!” and I went back to check my sources. Fail! There was an English print after a French original, and that doesn’t count!

So I shelved that idea, and went about looking for more Paul Sandby images of soldiers and maids and tents, and found instead Mr and Mrs Thomas Sandby. Ahem. Pinner apron alert.

Fluke, right? Well, no, not exactly.

Lady Chambers and child. Watercolor by Paul Sandby, RCIN 914409. Royal Collection Trust.

Lady Chambers and child. Watercolor by Paul Sandby, RCIN 914409. Royal Collection Trust.

Because here is Lady Chambers and child, with Lady Chambers in a pinner apron.

The thing to note, though, is that “apron” here is a decorative, almost ceremonial garment made of black silk, while the maid engaged in Domestick Employment is wearing a working garment of [probably white] linen.

Domestick employment, washing. Mezzotint by Richard Houston after Phillipe Mercier, 1736-1775. British Museum 1876,0708.23

Domestick employment, washing. Mezzotint by Richard Houston after Phillipe Mercier, 1736-1775. British Museum 1876,0708.23

Well, can I wear a pinner apron as a Continental army laundress or not? Probably not, though I will be going back through all the images of laundering I can find. It would be so useful and protective a garment!

No, instead, it looks as if the black silk pinner apron was a fashion adopted by the British upper class probably in imitation of the aprons worn by young girls. These fleeting, black silk accessories were probably adapted to some other use when the fashion had fallen from favor. (You could make a lot of mitts out of one of those.) Sadly, I don’t care enough about the elite to go chasing inventories and more images, but someone else can. I think I have seen a few other examples of this style, but cannot immediately place them. My sense is that these are not common.

I’m much more interested in laundresses and maids. Doesn’t she look sassy? We could call her Bridget. 

A country girl, full-length, facing front, leaning against a fence & a tree. Watercolor by Paul Sandby. RCIN 914438. Royal Collection Trust

A country girl, full-length, facing front, leaning against a fence & a tree. Watercolor by Paul Sandby. RCIN 914438. Royal Collection Trust

Camp Followers or Women of the Army?

22 Wednesday Jan 2014

Posted by in History, Laundry, Living History, Reenacting, Research

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Soldiers and Camp Followers Resting from a March. Jean-Baptiste Pater, 1730. private collection. used from Wikimedia Commons.

I prefer woman belonging to the army, or “regimental woman,” which sounds like Mick Jagger or Roy Orbison could sing it, but one could have a pretty lively discussion of which term to use. Camp followers has a connotation–prostitute–that doesn’t reflect the full reality of army life for women in either the British or the Continental armies.

Were there prostitutes who took advantage of the proximity of a large customer base? Yes, undoubtedly. In the John Robinson Waterman Papers there is an unusual letter from Col. William Battey dated October 28, 1812 with a sketch of the army camp near Albany and a description of camp life. This description includes the treatment of a woman accused of prostitution and summarily banished from camp. I think she was beaten and half-drowned, so the army took the no-prostitutes-whatsoever dictum very seriously.

As far as cooking goes, a commenter elsewhere explained that women would have been cooking, at least for themselves. Typically, they did not cook for the soldiers’ mess, unless they were being paid to. This must have been a difficult situation for the Continental Army: when women were present, it made excellent sense to assign them all possible non-combatant tasks to ensure the maximum fighting force. But could discipline be maintained? Not always, given Bridget’s temper.

A soldier and his girl. Henry Bunbury, ca. 1794. Lewis Walpole Library, Drawings B87 no. 8

A soldier and his girl. Henry Bunbury, ca. 1794. Lewis Walpole Library, Drawings B87 no. 8

Rolling back a bit and trying to consider the army’s structure and camp layout, what are the mechanics of handling rations for women with the army? How are they fed? And did it vary, unit by unit? There is probably far more variation than we credit, that will only be illuminated by careful attention to the documentary record. That means finding as many victualing rolls and returns as possible, looking for women. It means reading all the orderly books that can be found, looking for women.

The best secondary source I know for the Continental Army’s women is with Holly Mayer’s book, Belonging to the Army. (And I’ll admit I haven’t read it in two years, so it’s time to re-read it.) If you’re British, I’m not in a position to help you as much, but there is Don Hagist’s work on Women of the British Army. For a more granular understanding of women in all armies, you have to turn to primary sources, and what’s available varies from unit to unit, state to state. There is a handy index of orderly books,  and while these vary in their utility, they are a good place to start. In fact, the whole RevWar 75 site is useful (though it is not loading at the time of this writing).

Soldiers’ diaries and accounts are also useful. Jeremiah Greenman of the 2nd Rhode Island Regiment recorded his experiences throughout the entire war, starting in 1775, when he joined Arnold’s expedition to Quebec. There were two women on that expedition, attached to two different companies. While there is not a plethora of detail about the women, it is clear that they were strong and able, and in one case, more able than her husband.

Camp Life

21 Tuesday Jan 2014

Posted by in Laundry, Living History, Reenacting, Research

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The Jolly Landlady in Hyde Park. Paul Sandby, 1780. British Museum 1904,0819.622

The Fair Stationer in Hyde Park, 1780. Outline engraving by Paul Sandby. British Museum 1880,1113.1915

The Fair Stationer in Hyde Park, 1780. Outline engraving by Paul Sandby. British Museum 1880,1113.1915

Still wondering what to do in camp that’s not cooking or sewing? Technically, you shouldn’t be cooking if you’re a woman: that was a soldier’s job, though I recall seeing a reference to women cooking when all the men were pulled into the line during an engagement. A card file would help me, but for now, all I have is my scattered memory.

But if you’re tired of mending and making shirts (one of the most boring tasks, I find– all straight seams and very predictable), there’s more to do than laundry.

If the event represents a longer encampment, you could run a traveling coffee house or tavern. There’s the Widow Black in the Mid West, but I haven’t encountered this yet in New England. You could be a Jolly Landlady, or as the British Museum has it,  “a voluptuous lady stands in foreground to left, holding up a glass to a soldier on horseback.”

The Fair Stationer in Hyde Park 1780. Outline etching with watercolor, Paul Sandby. British Museum 1904,0819.576

The Fair Stationer in Hyde Park 1780. Outline etching with watercolor, Paul Sandby. British Museum 1904,0819.576

The Fair Stationer shows us Lloyd’s Coffee House and what looks like a carriage body on blocks, converted to a news stand. You could sell newspapers and writing paper, pamphlets and poem and songs. It’s an impression that would take a lot of thinking and research for the American colonies, but could be very interesting. the transmission of news and information and the transport of mail and packages presented challenges. How were they overcome?

I’m also struck by the number of dogs in Sandby’s images. If it’s not the same dog, over and over, I would guess that in the 18th century as in the 20th, soldiers had pets that traveled with them, both common soldiers with common curs and officers with hunting dogs. The camps must have been disastrously messy, with fatigue details to clean them.  We can’t have dogs at reenactments, but we could have more outraged sergeants. It’s hard, though, because to do these things well, you have to know and trust the people you’re doing them with (and that includes yourself).

Light Housekeeping

17 Friday Jan 2014

Posted by in Philosophy

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Heavy Housekeeping: Piano Relocation

As new readers stumble along here, I thought it might be helpful to explain a few things, to explicate the process, if you will.

The Images

The images I post are, wherever possible, linked back to the holding institution or owner. When a full caption appears, chances are good there is a catalog record for the image. If the holding institution doesn’t have a database, or doesn’t have a good way to link to the image, there will be clues to the source in the text or caption. That way, if you want to share an image, you can click it and get the source to share elsewhere. Check Pinterest as well, usually there are even more images than I can fit here.

The Writing

While I conduct research for what I write and for the events I am part of, this is obviously not an academic blog. It’s a personal blog, and a conversation. I think by writing, so my posts tend to be process-oriented and more about questions than answers. The longer I live the less I know, and the more I am comfortable with uncertainty and the search for knowledge and understanding. You may not see the snow leopard. It’s OK. (I do recommend Matthiessen’s book if you haven’t read it.)

Jumping Snow Leopard by Emmanuel Keller

I try to give my sources (sometimes as footnotes, sometimes in the text; this is a blog, I don’t always follow the Chi Man of Style) so that you can verify what I find and reach your own conclusions. Most sources I use can be found on Google Books, or the Internet Archive so that everyone can enjoy the digital surrogates; I also try to link to holding library catalog records where digital sources do not exist. Please forgive me: I am not the greatest proofreader at 5:00 AM when many of these posts are written.

I pad stitch like crap, but it’s getting better.

The Sewing

Talk about your work in progress! I’m still figuring all of this out, and I expect I always will be. Grab your popcorn, I will be doing something stupid any minute now on a garment I need in very short order. Again, what I think is true is that 18th and early 19th century tailors and sempstresses had a vocabulary of stitches, materials, and techniques that they commonly used in a variety of ways. There will be typical constructions and idiosyncratic assemblages. Some garments will be a mix of both. Welcome to idiosyncratic central. This is about the process of figuring things out, gaining knowledge and increasing ability and understanding. I try to understand how I would have sewn in the 18th century, which  means not even as well as an 8-year-old would have constructed clothing in 1770.

The Topics

I have my obsessions, you have yours. Historic laundry processes, living history, poor women, cats, museums, art, books, construction, the spectacle of the art and antiques market…you’ll find I jump around. Think of it as a restaurant with a varied tasting menu built around a few key ingredients.

The Attitude

Snotty and snarky? Yes. But because I know some folks read this at work, you are spared my customary in-person profanity despite the mighty effort it takes some days to resist writing like Rebecca Schuman. Especially when I write about the art and antiques market.

The Philosophy or Mission

Be excellent to each other. Practice kindness. Share your knowledge.

Thank you for reading and commenting. I really do appreciate it. Now, where’s that snow leopard?

Finding Bridget Connor

16 Thursday Jan 2014

Posted by in History, Laundry, Living History, Reenacting, Research

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Two washerwomen, one of the sketches made in Edinburgh and the neighbourhood after the rebellion of 1745 Pen and black ink and grey wash, over graphite. Paul Sandby, British Museum Nn,6.10.+

Regimental Orders, July 23rd 1782
At a Regimental Court Martial whereof Capt Francis is president, Briget Conner a Woman Belonging to the 10th Massachusetts Regiment was tried for purchesing a publick Shurt from a Soldier in Sd. Regiment found Guilty and Sentanced to Return the Shurt to the person from whom she purshest it and loos what She gav for the Shurt.
The Colo approves the opinion of the Court and orders it to take place Immediately

Regimental orders July 25th 1782
Bridget Conner a woman Belonging to the 10th Massachusetts Regiment is Directed to Leave Camp Between this and to Morrow Morning at Roal Call for her Insolence to the officers of sd Regiment on pane of Being Treated with Severity

The entries above are from the orderly book kept by Captain Stephen Abbot who served under Colonel Benjamin Tupper of the 10th Massachusetts Regiment. (This is a Continental Regiment, so the entry for the book in the holding library’s catalog is, um, confusing.)

The entries were sent to me by Mr Cooke as a place to start working on Bridget Connor (name confusion, it is Connor). I checked the Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors of the Revolutionary War, and what did I find? Francis Connor.

Francis Connor. Where did he come from?

Francis Connor, in the middle. Where did he come from?

Francis Connor was in Benjamin Tupper’s (10th) Regiment. He enlisted on December 25, 1781, and was reported deserted on July 25, 1782, the same day Bridget is directed to leave camp. Do you think Bridget might be Francis’s wife? I think she might be, and I am inordinately pleased about it.

It is a sad but true thing that it is easier to find a man in the 18th century records than it is to find a woman. (See Jill Lepore’s new book about Jane Franklin Mecom.) But with a husband to look for, maybe I can find more about Bridget. And if I can find more about Bridget (and even if I don’t) I can start asking the questions that create a more engaging impression or interpretation.

  • Where did Bridget live before they joined the 10th?
  • Where was she born?
  • How old was she?
  • What did Francis (if he was her husband) do for a living?
  • Did Bridget work? (Probably- but at what?)
  • Why did she join Francis in the Army?
  • Did she have previous run-ins with authority?

I have guesses about Bridget and Francis, and even if I can find no more than what I’ve found, I can create plausible stories about their lives to make the past more real. For history, though, I prefer telling truths to making up stories.