Slopmaker Cripps

http://earlyguitar.ning.com/ I'm currently building my first one.... Cheers, Adam C.

From what I understand, the current scholarly belief is that American today is closer to 18th century English than any of todays "British accents," especially here in the Coastal South. PBS did an excellent series entitled "Story of English" you will want to check out, and I just found this interesting article on their website that mentions a few of the things we retain that the English didn't post-American Revolution: http://www.pbs.org/speak/ahead/change/ruining/ . -Adam C.

I've seen a felt hat tarred with the legit kiln burnt pine tar....there is no sheen....if you're trying to do the painted canvas hats from the 1812 era, then you'd use black paint and coatings of linseed oil to shine that up a bit....but a tarred felt shouldn't be shiney and smooth like leather... Cheers, Adam C.

Hey everyone, I have seen CJ's original gunnister purse in person a number of times over the last two years, and everytime I see it the purse looks like it was brand new....and he uses it everyday. These are extremely well knit purses and should last a long time. If I hadn't just knit myself one as knitting practice (just starting to learn), I would be purchasing one of CJ's right now. Also, I've seen pictures of the original purse and the reproduction is spot on....minus the 300 years of sitting in a bog... Cheers, Adam C.

Wrong Vihuela.....I should have been clearer. The modern Vihuela is nothing like the period one, which is more accurately known as the Vihuela de Mano. If you want an amazing source on early guitars and vihuelas, check out http://earlyguitar.ning.com/ . I'm not a big fan of wikipedia, but their entry for Vihuela sums up the basics quite well and makes a nice spring board when you get among enthusiasts (like on the Ning site): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vihuela . Also, a search of Vihuela de Mano on youtube will turn up guys playing repro ones. Cheers, Adam

Forgot to mention above.....but a guitar is perfectly acceptable for your character. There are pictures of lower class Spaniards of various ethnic extractions in the Casta paintings playing baroque guitars and vihuelas. I don't check this forum as frequently anymore as I probably should, and I don't have the time right now to gather and post a bunch of links, so feel free to shoot me an email or something if you're interested in the period guitar option. I haven't looked at any materials for Santo Domingo specifically, but you can almost guarantee that they were present there on the island....afterall, we had Vihuelas and Guitars here in La Florida on the Spanish frontier from the 1570s on up, and they were extremely popular in other parts of the Spanish empire. Cheers, Adam (who is currently building a 1570s Vihuela)

Actually, Adam C., it's not for re-enactment; it's for a story. I think people would object to me putting on dark makeup and dancing around with a banjo. Still, it's something to look into for my character. Oh dear, sorry about the confusion. I've heard some people refer to their persona as their character in the past (usually those with theater backgrounds), so just thought that was what you meant. On a lighter note, there's some good info out there on the gourd banjo (and a lot of research still needing to be done) including a 1690's sketch of one and some good written sources regarding construction and sound. As for doing blackface, yes it's generally frowned upon. Having said that, back when I was doing civil war stuff, we had a few guys who after hours and just for us in the camp (we did first person 24/7, campaigned when out in the field, etc. etc.) put on black face minstrel shows....and when done properly really enhanced the experience and was quite enjoyable when approached from a period mindset. But definitely not PC by todays standards. Like it or not, it was part of our history, and repressing the knowledge of it doesn't make it go away (Examples: "Bamboozled" in 2000, and the 1958-78 "The Black and White Minstrel Show"). Cheers, Adam

Check out the dancing master pochette....it's the child of the rebec..... Also, since you're a Black Haitian Creole, you have the perfect opportunity there to use a strum-strum/banjar (the early gourd banjo that developed in the caribbean, mixing African and European forms). It took 100 years for it to slowly seep into the white population, but I bust one out sometimes when doing an indentured servant or sailor from a slaver. Cheers, Adam C.

I was hoping to make it, but have to back out as well.....I didn't realize that it was the same weekend as the British Nightwatch in St. Augustine, and I have prior committments there. At one time I may have been crazy enough to hit both events in the same weekend, but it's an extra 12 hours of driving time so isn't going to work out well. Hope you all have fun! -Adam C.

Where did our ancestors go in their sailing ships? Where the winds did.....looks like historic preservationists have a continually uphill battle before them... -Adam C.

Bring back the wood and canvas period windmills....I need something to joust with...... -Adam C.

Slight dialectical differences, but those are identical to the Sharwal trousers that descended from the Persian شلوار (Shalawar) which just means "trousers".....they're all in the same family with roots going back to the 12th century.... There's a pair of trousers called (if I remember the name correctly) Greguescos which are similar to the Sharwals, but it has a normal waistband instead of the drawstring and they flare at the hips and go tight at the ankles....it was apparently a greek fashion that was picked up by the Spanish and Portuguese, and you see them in some 16th century pics of Portuguese mariners in Japan... The zaraguelles are knee length, open bottomed shorts that gather into a waistband....like in the pics above and being worn in the Weiditz paintings... Cheers, Adam C.

Yes, there's some kind of padding underneath. I was hoping that I could find better versions online, but couldn't find any decent quality pics of the ones I was looking for.....numbers 1469 and 1479 here show them, but they're tiny.... http://www.funjdiaz.net/grab1.cfm?pagina=25 And I forgot to mention it earlier, but Zaraguelles just translates as "drawers".... Cheers, Adam C.

Forgot to mention that Weiditz in 1529 painted up a few pictures of sailors and slaves working on Spanish ships, one of which shows slaves filling water casks and they're wearing the zaraguelles and have the ankle thing. Cheers, Adam C.

The "shorts" that the slaves are wearing (with the shackle around their ankle when not working) in Flanders were worn throughout the Spanish empire at that time....they were called Zaraguelles, and were made from anjeo which was a course linen imported from Anjou France most commonly, though occasionally you see them as being made from wool and rarely out of a heavy silk taffeta. Sea chest contents of Antonio Gonzalez, age 26 from Triana on a voyage to New Spain in 1571: "-Three old zaraguelles, one of linen, another of coarser linen, and another of black woolen cloth...." Courtesy of Pablo E. Perez-Mallaina Cheers, Adam C.

http://www.kipar.org/period-galleries/paintings/1700/blenheim_grenadier_1704.jpg Not quite within your parameters but close (1704). Then here's a more modern painting that supposedly shows some mid-17th century grenadiers: http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/8782/jakob30.jpg Cheers, Adam C.

And travel stipends for broke students? -Adam C.

We've all been there, no worries...hope the project goes well for you. Hammocks were one of the greatest creations of man (you know, outside of agriculture). My last year of college, since I only had one class to attend and the rest were senior seminars and independent studies, I literally spent all day every day in my hammock with a 3 foot high stack of books next to it and a laptop.....it helped that the college had a palm garden that was put in back in the 1880s, so there were tons of awesome palm trees to string up between. Guess my point is, accurate or not, hammocks are amazing and even if you make a more authentic one down the road you will still find a use for this one....and if all else fails, you have an extra bed for the next new guy who comes down the line..... Cheers, Adam C.

Adam, Not a problem. Mr. Okeeffe's widening of his hammock actually gets it closer to the right demensions. I can't remember if Frank told me that it was 24 or 26 inches wide on the canvas that was used (contracted to be woven for both light sails and hammocks), so I'm hesitent to give final demensions at this moment. But that wide, with the two inches for the seam (1" on each panel if seamed right) down the center and selvedge on the outter edge was how the flat ones were done. Apparently the length in the original pattern was correct, he just didn't have the width down right (as well as the two panel thing). Also, he no longer supports the using cotton canvas thing....he made that WAY back in the day when Richmond was dealing with just trying to get a lot of newbies into the field....if you are hardcore dedicated, the answer is to spend a lot of money and get appropriate flax canvas custom woven and then pray you can sell the remainder off to your buddies (which he managed to do, but not all of it was in hammock form)...and our guys were only crazy enough to do that once...but a more practical solution is just to get hemp canvas, slice it down the center lengthwise and put your center seam in......it will look better than using cotton canvas (not used for hammocks until into the 19th century as far as I'm aware.....would love to see them at least as early as RevWar, but alas nothing yet...and I seriously doubt I'll find it early enough for pirate stuff), and would be a stronger and longer lasting hammock....match it up with a metal ring and some hemp rope for clews, and you're squared away.... Cheers, Adam C.

It's also a bit dated.....I'm friends with the guy who made that many moons ago, and he has since returned to England and turned up new stuff. The big thing I remember him mentioning was that the originals were made in two panels with a lengthwise seam down the middle, not just a single width of cloth like in the pattern (and the demensions are off because of this). Most of his research actually involved studying the canvas itself, weaves, weights, and what not....and he actually had a bunch of canvas made up identical to original canvas and was making hammocks out of it for awhile. Unfortunately, he got cancer and left the business of making Hammocks, and one of his last projects was supplying some hammocks for Master and Commander, but he did awesome work on them. He tried to encourage me to pick up where he left off and add hammocks to my production line, but I left the slop-making business about that time to pursue other endeavours. Cheers, Adam C.

What's the significance of the inscription? I'm not familiar with the rings, so merely curious.... -Adam

Well, I haven't made it to PIP yet....but since I am moving back into doing earlier stuff more frequently, I wouldn't mind trying to head that way and fall in with the Mercury. I'm just glad to see other people interested in improving the quality of GAoP era living history, and would be glad to join back into the efforts after my couple year hiatus. Cheers, Adam Cripps Slopmaker Cripps Fernandina Beach/St. Augustine, Florida

If you want a real challenge, try learning 16th-18th century Spanish paleography.....not only is the language slightly different from today, appearing at times like a weird mutant between Portuguese and Spanish (and I've actually found solidly Portuguese words thrown into a document I was translating once), but they also used a ridiculous amount of symbols and short hand. And to make it worse, they also pushed words together, so what appears like one word is actually 2-3. Add to this the normal complications of reading period handwriting and it is a beast. Very admirable that you are attempting to re-train your hand, as I have been doing much the same and can sympathize....it isn't as easy as one would think. and takes a LOT of ink and practice.... From La Florida, Adam C.

I've done caulking with oakum made of cocunut fibers and pine tar.....we had it on a role with the strips flattened, so as we brought it off we would have to rub it between our hands to thicken it up....We would then break it off into hanks and roll them up seperately, and use those when caulking. It works extremely well, though it is heck on your hands if you're not used to rubbing the fibers....though they'll thicken up quick enough. It's pretty much only good for wide seams, and allows you to save the cotton for finer ones. Cheers, Adam C.

The way our group does it is this.... Take a racquetball....some film canisters with the pop up lids that are attached.....you cut the racquetball, insert the film cannister.....poke a hole in the lid for the fuse....paint whole thing black.....put gunpowder in cannister.....light....throw....dodge.... -Adam C.