Gentleman of Fortune

The boy scouts are selling "tall ship"... Take a look! http://tinyurl.com/hjrgn Greg

Patrick PM me your address again. Greg

For me, the "time travel" experiences happen pretty rarely. I would say, in my Career of re-enacting, maybe8-10 times. Which probably comes down to 1 per 20 events, which is a LOT of weekends.... But the "pursuit" of the experience is fun too. I enjoy researching and building different kits, and trying to make them the best I possible can. Re-enacting is cool that way, everyone can (and does) get someting different out of it. Greg

Great graphic Pat! Thanks Greg aka GoF

Hey Kidd.... Check out this thread... there is some good advice and great sources within. http://pyracy.com/forums/index.php?showtop...5501&hl=cutlass GoF

Been following this thread, and its a gem. But I do have a few questions/comments. From Patrick and From Adam is this the picture Pat is talking about? If so, isn't it a depiction of the execution of Captain James Lowery in 1752, which would put it way out of GAoP in an era where there was a straight lined butt seam? And I am pretty sure that this is the picture that Adam is referring to. If so, its detail of the execution of Stede Bonnet, from 1st Dutch ed. of Johnson, 1725. Not that its a problem per se, but both 1725 and definately 1752 are end of, or out of GAoP. I think its important because a lot of the sailor clothing items that we are concerned with are in their infancy or non-existant, at the beginning of the GAoP and develop and progress on through the GAoP. If you think about it, sailors (and landsmen) are wearing doublets and breeches (or petticoat breeches) prodominantly before the GAoP (lets say 1660-1680). As the GAoP comes onto the scene, you start seeing lots of the short jacket styles, (which I would say, is a progression of the doublet) and the slop "shorts, and then slop trousers. I would think it would be conceivable that in the 1680-90s a short jacket would be more "doublet" like, than a short jacket made in 1720. I imediately think of the Duplessis water colors of the French circumnavigation around 1700... to me their short jackets are very "doublet" like. Likewise, I would think that short and long slops, would be more like their predecessor (breeches) in 1690 than they would be in 1720. So for me, a lot of it would depend on what era of sailor you would be portraying. It would make sense to me that, whoever invented the slop trousers, probably didn't come up with the idea on thier own. They more than likely just made the short slops "longer", and as they "progressed" they were modified and improved upon until you go to the "style" like the ones in the 1752 picture. A lot of this is conjecture, as with most of what we do if we don't have an extant slops to go by. I appreciate all the tailor/seamstress/pattern drafter's input though, as they have made the garments, or are familiar with clothing construction and can provide insight as to what we are seeing in the pictures. As far as slop trousers are concerned... is their an earlier picture than of Rodgers men in 1712? Greg

I just love these "hot" topics. I would add too that, I have not really ever seen a "good" picture of period slops. Maybe Foxe or Adam has one in their collection and they are being stingy.... So its hard to see the waistband... front or back clearly. And the sides where pockets "might" have been. And of course, the crotch.... Assuming that one garmet morphs into another as time goes on, I would think that early, ie GAoP slops would be very much like period breeches, except for not being closed at the knee, and having more fabric at the knee..... Here is Waugh's breeches circa 1680-90 which should at least be a starting point.... And, Do we have any 1690-1720 pictures of sailors in short slops? Most of what I see must be post 1710 depictions as the sailors are depicted in either breeches or long slop trousers (not the shorts). Look forward to the responses. Greg aka GOF

I have been planning to make my Justaucorps for some time. I think I like planning more than my wife would give me credit for.... Anywhoo. What I "plan" to do is make the bloody thing and follow my progress, right here at the good ol' piracy pub! Now, I am certainly no tailor, but the instructions seem easy enough for me to follow, so I am going to give it a shot. I am gearing up for a house move, so, you will have to bear with me a bit, but I am going for the early justaucorps out of wool with linen lining..... The first thing I am going to do is read the directions again.... Not just the directions, but the cool little packet that gives a run-down of the history of the Justaucorps as well. Watch this space! Greg aka GOF

There are a lot of factors involved... i guess. For me, the bulk of my Re-enacting experience has been in eras that are "public" oriented. Let me splain. I cut my teeth re-enacting doing WW2. I went to my first event at 13/14 (no kidding... even had my junior high yearbook taken in WW2 uniform... what a geek). For 95% of what we did in WW2 it was all private stuff. Anywhere from 50 to 1500 guys in uniform, usually on a military base but sometimes private land "re-creating" WW2 conflict. There were very few dog and pony shows, and since the "public" doesn't care to see folks walking around in German WW2 uniforms, there wasn't a lot of interaction with the public. From there I did, a little WW1, and some Spanish Civil War, and a little Wild West. Again, 90-95% of the stuff I did, had no connection with the "public", except, maybe once a year at MTA in Jamestown. So for me "re-enacting" has always been recreating the past, or using it as a "time machine" to go back into the past and live like someone did 50 or 500 years ago. I guess that is why I have fallen in with the "Authentic" crowd, or side of the house. Because you can't get that time travel experience, unless you eliminate as many inconsistancies as you can. This has been interesting though, to see all the different takes on the topic.... keep em' coming please. GoF aka Greg

This is some pretty cool stuff. John was the first "real" pirate I ever saw at an event.... I was in awe then, and still am now. Cheers mate. Patrick Dude... you rock. Not many people can pull off the "thrum" look, but by golly, you sure do! Ed Again, setting the standard.... but is it true that sea chest was full of twinkees??? GoF

Just in time for the the end of summer/fall pirate season! A knitted wool cap!!!! I had some monmouth caps made up out of some choice hand spun and dyed bulky yarn. For those of you that balk at the price of monmouth caps, enough correct wool to make one cap can cost $12-$20 bucks! Here is the original and Here is my reproduction More info on Monmouth Caps HERE $35 and I'll pay shipping for pub members. I take pay pal pm me if you are interested

PRIZE UPDATE Track of the Wolf Has graciously provided free catelogs for all the Winners (1st, 2nd & 3rd) in each category. If you can't find something in their store you like, you don't like guns! GoF

BoB? Well... hmmmm ****EDIT************************************************** This looks like it might be or become a pissing contest... I really don't want it to be and there is no offense meant ********************************************************** I will agree that the term "Cask" could mean any size container. I personally do not have enough information to say that a cooper living in the 17th/18th century would use "Barrel" interchangeably with "cask" or when describing "any" size container. Since these words meant specific things, It would make sense to use "Cask" in the generic term, but to using any other term to mean "any container" would probably be just as misleading then as it is to us now While it is convenient for us to use the term "barrel" to mean anything from 55 gal to a 2 gal container in 2006, I think it would be a stretch to say that a GAoP era cooper did as well. My guess is, that's because they were infinitely more familiar with different size storage containers for both dry and wet goods, they would be "specific" with the words that they used. If someone said, "go to the market and get a barrel (36 gallons) of oats", and didn't mean a "barrel" they could end up with any number of meausres that would result in various quantities of oats. Did they really mean, "go get a strike (16 gallons), or a bag (24 gallons), or a tun (256 gallons) of oats? Your first set of quotes is a little out of bounds (1756) for a good GAoP reference, by about 25 years. While it is interesting, we should probably limit ourselves to refrences for the time frame that we are trying to portray. For me personally, its 1690-1720, but if you are doing 1756 pirate, its more relevant so charge right on ahead. Quote 9 It does say a "tun", and we have already established that it was a more common practice during the GAoP to have the largest casks iron bound. Quote 10 As you say, it is a little ambiguous. Since they are talking about beer, it could be a number of sizes, but probably a hogshead or even a tun. Many pubs in England are named "The three Tuns, or "The eight tuns" in refrence to the Beer storage container. It says too that only "3/4ths" of the beer should be bound with iron. So the other portion of beer is bound with wood? Again, no particular size is mentioned. If it is the larger sizes, this may make sense, but we cannot know for sure, and, as it is a 1756 reference, I don't think its worth splitting hairs. The second set of quotes is "in" bounds. And it's an interesting find too! So thanks for posting. There are some interesting considerations though. The first is this seems to be only for provisioning Royal Navy ships, as its an instruction from Parliament to the Admiralty. Also, its interesting that it is only for certain types of voyages, specifically outlined in the order. The emphasis is of course mine. It seems that in this instance, the iron bound casks are used solely for the water storage, and, it specifically calls for a hogshead (63 gallons). The same order also calls for a bundle of wooden hoops, which we know is a common way of binding cask staves. This is interesting too. For Royal Navy Channel voyages, or any "shorter" voyage, a moiety (half) of the beer can be in iron bound casks. For longer voyages, 3/4ths will be in iron bound hoops. Speculation comes into play here too. It seems that the iron bound casks are used for longer term storage. This may also mean that the casks themselves would be of the larger variety as it doesn't make as much sense to use smaller containers for long storage than it would to have larger one, but I can't confirm that. As said above, we know that large casks could be iron bound, but it's a shame that no size is specified. I have a feeling though that since the second quote (IX) is coming right after the first one (VII) and concludes with the words " as above ", I think that it would be safe to assume that that they would be referring to a hogshead. And despite the etymology of the term "scuttlebutt", it doesn't seem to be mentioned at all, (though Cask and Hogshead are). I guess scuttle-hogshead was too much of a mouth full for a GAoP sailor. and Wait a minute... this is coming from the "Object Acquisition Triangle" guy????... Heresy! Well I don't know. I refuse to let "good enough win. I prefer better as way point to best. You can re-enact your way, and I can re-enact mine right? Lets face it, there are plenty of areas where we have to make exceptions due to lack of good reproductions. Some of these things are necessary though. Like stockings. Most of us wear the cotton or wool knitted ones that, frankly, are not right. But to me, that is much different that having a wrong item that you really don't "have" to have anyway. I mean, is a cask that necessary? Even if it is a correct one, I can just imagine the throngs of pirates with tankards dangling from their belts sauntering up to ye old hogshead to slake their piratey thirst.... Now to the champion of good enough, this would be ok. And you know what? Pirate is a big enough re-enacting tent for everyone and if, In your camp, you want an iron bounded firkin, you can go for it! I'd even come over and drink any beer that came out of it. But to me, its a modern cask or at best an un-authenticated style that is not a: I just wouldn't use it at all. I would rather "not use" an unnecessary item than to use a wrong item that wasn't necessary. But again, you re-enact your way, and I will do it mine. To recap the cask debate, what we have established is that: 1) The largest of casks were or could be iron bound 2) That on certain RN voyages, 4 Hogsheads, iron bound, of water could be found 3) On specific Royal Navy voyages, 1/2 of the beer (shorter range?), and on other voyages (longer ranged?), 3/4ths of the beer should come in casks (more than likely Hogsheads) bound in iron hoops. 4) The physical evidence that we have is period pictures (see Lowthar and "camp in Flanders in 1707" and casks recovered from period wrecks. That evidence seems to point to wooden hoops being the norm and iron for larger casks in certain situations So we can't say that iron hoops didn't exist for GAoP, what we can say though is that the evidence points to their use in certain situations and then on the larger (hogshead or greater) casks. So, if you have enough information to comfortably put a iron hooped firkin (9 gallons) in your camp, then dude, go ahead. For me though, I would get some willow or chestnut hoops and replace the iron ones, or, not use any at all and put the igloo cooler with the red bull in the car. GoF

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I just heard back from Loyalist Arms! They will offer a $25 gift certificate to a winner! If you are interested in flintlocks and accessories, here is a great chance! Take a look http://www.loyalistarms.freeservers.com/ne...roducts-01.html GoF

Since I only announced this contest in Rabble Rousing, I am going to extend the deadline for entries. I have contacted several vendors about supplying gift certificates or other things as prizes. As i get positive responses, I will post them here. GoF

I don't want this to be thought of as cross posting, but I know that a lot of the folks that check into the pub go here and twill and nothing else. I tried to have a signature graphic contest a while back, but it suffered a crib death due to a technical glitch. I am running it again and you can find out more if you look for the thread in Rabble Rousing. I have contacted several companies that sell 17th-18th century stuff for prizes... gift certificates and what not. Plus t-shirts and things from my own collection. The prizes are the plunder here.... Anyway, check it out and participate as there should be some cool stuff! GoF

Looks great, and I like the Grey trim! Now stick it on you gourd and take another pic! GoF

Well it must have been prevalent enough with the spanish (in 1725) to be incorporated into a Spanish clothing and equipment list.... or Maybe the picture is actually closer to 1756 than to 1725? Hmmmmm..... GoF

The picture of my hat that you "pirated" has worsted wool hat trim/braid. You can get it from here http://wmboothdraper.com/Tape&Lace/tapelace.htm Hat making and shaping has a lot of personal prefrence built in to it. I would suggest that you look at the http://www.gentlemenoffortune.com/tricorne.htm page and click the picture of tricorn development. It will give you a good idea of what GAoP hats should/can look like. Wool felt shapes pretty easy when you steam it. Period hat seem to have a lower flatter crown. I read somewhere once that they were blocked on a round form and not an oval head shaped one. Please post pictures of what you come up with as I am sure we would all like to see it! GoF

hmmmm.... ohhhh. I have heard a lot recently about LARP (In my mind I read... long range recon patrol) and I did not know if it was a sub movement/culture or what. Now I.... know. GoF

Well that is interesting. The recent posting of the 1725 spanish sailor clothing and equipment drawing shows something translated as "Cigars and Tobacco". Apparently, these drawings were made between 1717 and 1756. Maybe this one is not as early as it is proported to be..... Just some thoughts. GoF

Alright... what is the difference between Re-enacting/Living History and Live Action Role Play (LARP). Anyone? I don't know so I am asking. GoF

Here is a link to a post that Mission made (and I think it is also at Piratesinfo.com). I am not ready to say the lack of Spanish pirates on the list is due to an Anglo Bias... as Spain is represented with 22 and Malta has 19 and Germany clocks in at over 100. Though Spain has had a huge influence on Naval History (especially during the 1400-1700s), there doesn't seem to be any impact on Anglo sailors clothing, and except for the French 1700 circumnavigation watercolors, we don't seem to see anyone else wearing Capotes or other clothing of Spanish origin. Of course, I am sure I am missing some sources, so if anyone else has something, please share. GoF

WOW! That is pretty freakin cool man! Great exposure for the Pirate Brethren and a good gig ta boot! I hope this leads to more opportunities for you guys (and inspiration for others in the group to get going on getting their kit together and participating)! I don't know how long this will last, but here is the pic from the newspaper! GoF