A Woodsrunner's Diary

Planter of Colonial Virginia. A Video.

2012-01-27T19:11:00.000-08:00

The Adoption of Mary Jemison by Robert Griffing

2012-01-27T15:17:00.000-08:00

http://lordnelsons.com/gallery/frontier/griffing/84.htm

Getting To Know The 18th Century. A Video.

2012-01-27T13:55:00.000-08:00

My Fire Lighting Book. Discounted by 30% by LuLu.

2012-01-27T13:08:00.000-08:00

If you have been thinking of getting my book, now is probably a good time. LuLu Publishers are discounting stock by 30%.

Primitive Fire lighting, Flint & Steel & Fire-Bow.

Purchase Primitive Fire lighting or any other title with 30% off with coupon code SHELFSTOCK305.

http://www.lulu.com/product/17366659?cid=012612_en_email_SHELFSTOCK305

Pioneer Handbooks: - Make butter like a settler.

2012-01-26T16:45:00.000-08:00

Pioneer Handbooks: - Make butter like a settler.

http://www.sussexcrafts.com/KitchenScullery.htm

Friction Fire. The Fire-Bow. Slightly Different Approach.

2012-01-24T16:58:00.000-08:00

For a long time I did not bother to make a video on fire-bow fire lighting, & that was because it has already been done so many times. However, I have noticed how some people have difficulty getting the smouldering ember to ignite the kindling grass (or whatever they use).
I add one other stage to using the fire-bow, that of adding extra tinder. So if you do use the fire-bow, or are learning this method, my video may still be worth watching.

Safety First. A Tragedy.

2012-01-24T14:36:00.000-08:00

TREMONTON — A 14-year-old boy was killed Monday after accidentally shooting himself in the head with an 18th-century miniature replica cannon in his living room, police said.

I am using this piece of tragic news to remind everyone of the dangers involved with using ANY type of firearm. I don't know whether this is a case of the boy not recieving the proper instruction, or it is a matter of the boy not paying attention to what he was taught.
My Father when he was a lad picked up the barrel of my Granfather's fowler & took it outside. The barrel had just been cleaned & apparently the breech plug had been removed. My Father propped the barrel on top of the low garden gate & was looking through the bore at kids playing on the village common. My Grandfather saw him & gave him the biggest wopping of his life.
My Father told me this story when he was instructing me in the safety & cleaning of firearms at an early age. I never forgot. Firearms whether longarms, pistols or miniature cannons are NOT toys, they are a very serious piece of equipment & deserve to be handled with the greatest of care.
If you have children, please teach them while they are young & continue to remind them to take care EVERY time you see them handling a gun. I made toy guns for my boys to play with, but they knew the differnce between playing with a toy, and handling a real gun.

I had a Friend in the Territory who owned one of these working miniature cannons. He used to bring it out to my property, & it was a lot of fun. These cannons can shoot a .50 calibre round ball, that is a pretty large calibre. If you have one of these, & you have kids, do NOT let them play with it! It is not a CHILD'S toy, loaded or unloaded.

History Council of New South Wales (NSW). NOTICE.

2012-01-23T20:49:00.000-08:00

This month in history…News from the History Council of NSW January 2012

Upcoming History Council NSW Events

Happy New Year! We hope you had a relaxing and enjoyable festive season.

Theme for 2012 History Week Announced: Threads

They wore what?! Long before the fashionistas of today decided ‘the look’, dress was an important element of human expression. From status to style, culture to professional identity, clothes have defined us. History Week 2012 will explore the history of threads and unpick the meaning behind the wardrobes of the past.

Keep an eye on the HCNSW website for more information about events and ways to get involved!
Prime Minister’s Literary Awards: Australian History
Don’t forget the Prize for Australian History is now part of the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards. This Prize is awarded to an individual or a group for an outstanding publication or body of work that contributes significantly to an understanding of Australian history – and it’s not just for books. Eligible works can include a published book, website, film or radio documentary, CD-ROM, DVD, other form of multimedia or a series of these works.
To be eligible, the work must be first published, produced or broadcast between 1 January 2011 and 31 December 2011.
Entries close 1 February 2012. To enter or for more information, visit our website.

News
NSW Premier's History Awards under review
Arts NSW has announced a review of the NSW Premier’s History Awards. The History Council of NSW will monitor closely the outcome. Check in on our website for more information, and find out more on the Arts NSW website.
Member Announcements

Conferences

From the Ground Up: Call for submissions

In an article in the Journal of Urban History in 2002, Grace Karskens recounted an overheard train conversation in which a boy, around ten years of age, asked his brother: ‘What is Sydney? Where is it?’ In the article that followed, she noted the difficulties in conveying the complexity, substance and feel of
a city. She suggested, though, that it was possible to develop such histories ‘from the ground up and from the inside out’ through critical and substantive research into, and with, places and people.

By bringing together academics, postgraduate students and professional historians engaged with the history of Sydney and its suburbs, From the Ground Up offers an opportunity to explore the complexity of the city’s past. It is interested in illuminating the mundane, ordinary and everyday; acknowledging the marginalised and dispossessed; exposing the forgotten; and exploring the connections in Sydney between people, place and broader historical, environmental and social forces. In considering how we might rethink the history of cities, and Sydney in particular, papers might draw on immigrant, feminist, Aboriginal and environmental history, although a broad range of papers engaging with the conference themes is expected and encouraged.

A selection of papers from the conference will be collated in a special edition of the referred Sydney Journal, and published in the Dictionary of Sydney.

Those wishing to present papers should send a 200 word abstract (for a 20 minute paper), and a brief CV to the conference organisers at SydneyHistoryConference@gmail.com, by 10 February 2012. For inquiries about the conference, or proposals for panels, please contact Dr Matt Bailey.

Contact: matthew.bailey@mq.edu.au.
When: People and Place in Sydney’s Past
Where: Metcalfe Room, State Library of NSW
Date: 23-24 August 2012

Heritage Courses on Indigenous and Cultural Heritage

You might be interested in these courses being run by The University of Queensland, School of Social Science. Follow the link for more information.

http://www.lifebeyondtourism.org/wp-content/themes/k2/workshop/dett_workshop.asp?id_work=373

Powerhouse Discovery Centre Open Day

The Powerhouse Discovery Centre kicks off its 2012 open day program with an exciting day for all the family on Saturday 11 February 2012. Highlights include a very special behind the scenes tour of time-keeping objects (and a few telescopes) led by Andrew Jacob the new Assistant Curator at Sydney Observatory, and a very special live performance with our very own Chinese Water Dragon at 11am. Young visitors can enjoy making a space mobile or paper dragon puppet to take home from our make and do craft stations.

When: Saturday 11 February 2012
Website: www.castlehill.powerhousemuseum.com

Kate Laing
Administrative Assistant
History Council of NSW
PO Box R1737
Royal Exchange NSW 1225
T: (02) 9252 8715
F: (02) 9252 8716
www.historycouncilnsw.org.au

Office days: Tuesday and Wednesday

John Bartram 1743. Shelter & Food.

2012-01-23T18:29:00.000-08:00

A Blanket as Shelter. Bartram, 1743.

2012-01-23T18:23:00.000-08:00

Morgan, Baynton & Wharton, Traders, 1768.

2012-01-23T18:14:00.000-08:00

Winter Trade By Griffing.

A letter from Morgan to Baynton and Wharton:

Baynton & Wharton, 1768.

I shall impatiently await the Arrival of our red Strouds &c, with-
out without which We shall suffer greatly in our Sales. Should any Accident have happend to them I recommend to you to send at least 100 Pieces of the already described Fabrick, as soon as possible.

I have already sent you a gen^ Order for the Goods which are in
demand here & which will afford a great Advance Mess" Clarkson
& Jennings drew it out, but I fear the Am* may be beyond your
Capacity. If so, I would have you generally confine yourselves to the
Articles therein mark'd with an A particularly those mentiond in the
inclosed List But a small Part of those markd B, will be very
necessary. As to Muscovado & Loaf Sugar, Coffee, Chocolate, Mens,
Womens & Childrens best & common Leather Shoes, Tin Ware —
Pewter d° Silver Truck, Appalachia Handkerchiefs — Beaver Traps,
& Soap, you cannot send too great a Q^^ but an assortment will
occasion quicker Returns & prevent Traders going to New Orleans.

Pray dont forget to send the Jesuits Bark by the first Opportunity
I expect to eat a pound of it myself if it comes in Time. We are
greatly distressed for Want of Medicines & shall be much more so in
two or three Months if Mr Wharton does not bring a small Supply.
I flatter myself that ere this you have forwarded to Fort Pitt A
considerable Part of the Goods I sent an Order for P Silver Heels &
Mr Young & That that [sic] they will be despatchd to this Place
before the Fall of the Waters — We shall be in Want of the following
particular Articles, Viz
Loaf Sugar
Muscovado d"
Hyson Tea
Bohea d°
Chocolate
Pepper
Shoes very large in the
instep but not high
quarterd fine &
coarse Mens Wom-
ens & Childrens
Tin Ware
Pitch & Cordage
Pewter Basons &c
Brass Candle sticks
Writing Paper
Spike Gimblets
Tap Bores
3 Largest Scale Beams
Steel Spurs Short of all Sizes
Salt Petre
Worsted or Cruels
Short Pipes
Blotting Cloaths
fine Irish Linnens
fine Chintz & Callicos
White & red Flan^
Swanskin
Black Barcelona
Cravats & Hkdfs
Bandana d°
small Gilt Trunks
Bed Ticken in Pieces
Table Cloths
Candle Wick &
Candle moulds
black Kip Hides
tannd Sheep Skins
Beaver Traps
Nails & Iron Mongery
for building of Houses
scyths & Sickles
scyth Stones

Knives & Forks
Garden Spades
Axes, of the best sort
A large Q*^ of English Cheese
12 lb Beeswax
Shirt Buttons
fine y^ w^ Cott Checks
blue & red striped
Ginghams & Cott
Hollands
Apalachia Hhdfs
Mens Boys & Womens
worsted Hose & th"*
G milld Hose &
Mitts & Gloves
Felt & Castor Hats
brass Jews Harps
Castile Soap
Playing Cards
6 best Whip Saws
2 Mill Saws
Bar Iron
Red Stroud &c &c
principally the Indian
Silver Truck as wrote for

Our Grease Lamp.

2012-01-21T14:18:00.000-08:00

When we lived without electricity we used a combination of rushlights, candles (home made), and grease lamps. One grease lamp I made from a tin, but it was not as pleasing to look at as the one below. They are smoky though, and the ceiling colours in the living room and kitchen in Elm Cottage are much darker because of using this lighting.

Pioneer Handbooks: - How to make rushlights. Plus My Images.

2012-01-20T20:38:00.000-08:00

Pioneer Handbooks: - How to make rushlights.

Our two rushlight holders. These supplied us with light for many years.

Hold the weight up and the jaws open.

Let the weight down, and the jaws close to hold the rush stem or a taper.

2012-01-20T20:35:00.000-08:00

University Artifact Images. Permission Granted.

2012-01-20T14:26:00.000-08:00

Some of these items such as the gun parts can be dated to 1840, but of course items such as the ball mould and the lead ladle could be a lot earlier. The clay pipe fragments are believed to be later than 1700ad.

The lower image is of a stone ball mould. Both the ladle & the ball mould demonstrate the enginuity and improvisation of the period. Although we still need to be careful when using experimental archaeology to produce period items, this does open some doors.

My thanks to the University of Florida for allowing me to publish these images.

http://ufdc.ufl.edu/UF00027829/00116/3j

A Sketch of the Crude Lead Ladle.

2012-01-19T19:55:00.000-08:00

I have been studying the photograph of the lead ladle, & the more I look at it the more I am not sure which way up it is. Enlarging the image allowed me to sketch the ladle, but it became so pixelated that I could not tell if it was the right way up or not! Anyway, I have made a rough sketch so we can better understand what we are looking at.

Australian Timeline Festival Group. A Link.

2012-01-18T14:29:00.000-08:00

To View/Join the Timeline Festival Group, please visithttp://www.facebook.com/groups/112143032167877/?notif_t=group_r2j

Finally I have a first ! The First ! I have found documentation for a bag ladle !!!

2012-01-17T21:53:00.000-08:00

To say I am a little excited is an understatement. I have been 30 hours researching over the past two days, and finally found what I was looking for. It has ben a bone of contention for a long time now whether or not woodsmen carried ball moulds & lead ladles in their shot pouches. I can not prove they did, but I have good reason for carrying these tools in my shot pouch. Trouble was, there has been no documentation for small, short, light lead ladles.
Now you no doubt remember seeing the lead ladle I carry and use. I made this about 20 years ago, and I did not copy it from an original. I made it at the time because I had the need, and I thought that if I used common materials and common 18th century tools, combined with a simple design that most anyone could come up with and produce, then that was as close as I could get at the time.
But now I have found documentation in an image of an original ladle, Indian made, and almost exactly the same as the one I made. Only two differences, (1) it is cruder in make, and (2) the crimp on the socket to insert a green stick is on the top instead of on the bottom as mine is.
Unfortunately the document and the image of the original is copyright, so I can't post it here. But I will give you the link. Please bare in mind that I have edited the original image by isolating the lead ladle so I could better identify it. You may need to do the same.
http://ufdc.ufl.edu/UF00027829/00116/3j

18th century Packs & Bags in Detail Part 1. A Video. By Request. The Knapsack.

2012-01-16T01:17:00.000-08:00

My Trade Kettle & Contents.

2012-01-16T01:08:00.000-08:00

Space is not wasted in my knapsack, as I store dried food, tea & my cup in my kettle.

The kettle & contents are kept in a linen bag & carried in my knapsack.

Spare Lock Parts & Tools in my Knapsack.

2012-01-15T17:55:00.000-08:00

Spring vise, screws, lock springs, hammer, & wad punch.

Pioneer Handbooks: - How explorers made pemmican. Worth a look. Good article.

2012-01-15T16:17:00.000-08:00

Pioneer Handbooks: - How explorers made pemmican.

My Belt Pouch & Contents.

2012-01-14T22:34:00.000-08:00

Belt pouch, fire-bag, tinderbox, fire steel, sundial compass, & fishing tackle tin.

Blades For Militia Duty.

2012-01-14T13:47:00.000-08:00

My shot pouch and contents.

2012-01-13T21:53:00.000-08:00

Swan shot, bird shot, ball, tool pouch: pin punch, grease, screw, turn screw, flint, flint leather. Ramrod leather thong, cow's knee lock cover, ball mould, lead ladle, bar lead, tow wadding, pan brush, vent pick, powder charger/measure, vent quills, loading block, Powder horn.

Dangerous Information!

2012-01-12T00:58:00.000-08:00

Webster's Online Dictionary

http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definitions/gunpowder

"In the USA, standard grades of black powder run from the coarse Fg grade used in large bore rifles and small cannon though FFg (medium and smallbore rifles), FFFg (pistols), and FFFFg (smallbore, short pistols and priming flintlocks). "

The above information is not correct. Accepted grades for calibres are: Up to .45 calibre 3FG. .50 calibre & larger 2FG. Same for pistols. 3FG can be used in larger calibres providing the recommended powder load is adjusted to lower the pressure. 4FG should NEVER be used as a main load, NOT in any ammount. This 4FG is a very fine powder & a modern invention to be used to prime the PAN on flintlock guns (priming horns & special priming powder was not used in the 18th century). If you were to load a gun with 4FG/ffffG, it will likely explode the barrel causing death or injury to anyone standing in the close vicinity.

PLEASE NOTE: There is no contact address on the above site, so I am unable to contact them & correct this error.

The Fur Trade in Australia? The Beaver Rat and More.

2012-01-11T15:54:00.000-08:00

I first heard about the Beaver Rat and how it used to be trapped for its fur from an older neighbour here in New England. There used to be Beaver Rat in Boorolong Creek, just down the bottom of the mountain from where we live. How early this Beaver Rat fur trade started I don't know, but one assumes that if it had been a large industry there would be more information to find.

Definition of BEAVER RAT

: a golden Australian water rat (Hydromys chrysogaster) with an elongated flattened body, broad flat head, short limbs, large feet, and a short heavy white-tipped tail.

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/beaver%20rat

Fur seals. The loss of furs from other sources was a major incentive leading to massive hunts for various types of seal. The animals were usually clubbed to death when they came ashore to breed. The pattern was familiar - the discovery of large populations of target species, the development of intensive hunting leading to extermination or depletion, the move to a new area. The first phase (1780-1820) was directed at the southern fur seal in many areas of the southern hemisphere and was carried out by sealers from Europe, Russia, Canada and the U.S. http://darwin.bio.uci.edu/~sustain/bio65/lec05/b65lec05.htm

The Australian Mountain Brushtail Possum. We have a lot of these in Wychwood Forest.

The Australian brush tailed possum was introduced into New Zealand in 1837 to establish a fur trade. http://www.doc.govt.nz/conservation/threats-and-impacts/animal-pests/animal-pests-a-z/possums/facts/

Eugène von Guérard, The barter, 1854, oil on canvas.

(Trading possum furs).

http://www.davesact.com/2010/05/last-of-wild-blacks.html

Australian History Video, Part 1.

2012-01-11T14:28:00.000-08:00

A Little Info on William Buckley. A Video.

2012-01-11T14:03:00.000-08:00

A Call to Wings: Sweet tea.

2012-01-11T13:33:00.000-08:00

A Call to Wings: Sweet tea.

18th Century Carrying methods and my Blanket Roll. A Video.

2012-01-10T19:58:00.000-08:00

Recreating The 18th Century Punch & Judy Show. A Link.

2012-01-10T19:53:00.000-08:00

http://furtradeclerk.blogspot.com/2012/01/recreating-18th-century-punch-show.html

18th century Packs & Carrying Methods.

2012-01-10T18:26:00.000-08:00

Information supplied by request.

This article is taken from a reply to one of our group members on our group's forum who is thinking of carrying a seperate bedroll on a leather strap or tumpline:
http://eighteenthcenturylivinghistory.freeforums.org/blanket-carrying-shoulder-belt-t342.html

First let me say that this is not MY prefered method. I have over the years tried many different period methods of carrying gear before I settled on what I use now. However, it is a personal preference, so I will post here what I think you are looking for.
The "Tumpline" has a long history of use for burden carrying, it is a useful piece of equipment & does have its place. Usually used for portaging heavy loads that are suspended from the persons forehead, but can also be used across the shoulders, or over one shoulder with the strap across the chest.
I found this method for blanket carrying difficult when wearing a hat. Over one shoulder I found it unballancing at times & a strain.
The problem with carrying items in the blanket roll, is that every time you use it you have to take the loose items out & repack them again. I don't find this method very practicle.

My own pack is a knapsack (two straps) for carrying my main gear, & occasionally a haversack (one strap) for carrying trail foods or extra items for a long trek. I try to keep my gear the same at all times, summer or winter. My blanket roll & my oilcloth are tied seperately to the straps of my knapsack. Only when on the water do I wrap my blanket inside my oilcloth. In this way when on the trail, I can remove the oilcloth if it begins to rain & cover mysel & my equipment.

This is my knapsack. When I was trying out the bedroll carry, this pack was actually a haversack my wife made me as a gift. I soon realised that this method was hard work over any distance, so converted the haversack into a knapsack.
The other thing is that I have enough straps to wear already, & another strap across the chest just will not do. Using the knapsack method as above, means that I only have my powder horn, shot pouch, haversack & chest strap on the knapsack across my chest. The knapsack is last on & first off. My leather costrel/water canteen I suspend from my waist belt.
I hope this helps.
Regards.

_________________
“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.” Henry David Thoreau.

Gettysburg 150th attendance. The American Civil War.

2012-01-10T17:44:00.000-08:00

Dear All

Please pass this on to any whom may be interested. I have set up an email list for planning for Gettysburg 150th attendance.

The list is open to any reenactor, military or not, from any group, any side. Non-reenactors who are attending are also welcome if they are interested.

The list is designed to help us all stay in touch about what Australians might do in the US and at the reenactment.

It is NOT an indication of definite attendance. Join up if you are at all interested and hoping to get there if you win Lotto.

It is NOT about coordinating Australians as a group - it is designed for us to discuss who we are hooking up with, where we might all meet up after the battle for a beer, who might like to travel somewhere before or after, help with finding a unit, help with kit, accommodation, etc.

The details of the email group are here:
Subscribe:AustraliansatGettysburg150th-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

This is a reenactment of the war where Americans fought Americans in the 19th century. The North fought the South.
The photos below are original photos taken during the civil war.

I have heard it said that some Americans are still very passionate about who won & who lost.

Jugged Hare on The Old Foodie's Blog.

2012-01-10T14:18:00.000-08:00

I give you the earliest recipe I know for ‘Jugged Hare’. It is from Hannah Glasse’s Art of Cookery (1747)
http://www.theoldfoodie.com/2012/01/jug-of-hare.html

Image above curtesy of: http://historiccookery.com/2011/08/17/the-delicious-variety-of-fireside-feasts/

A Letter From Dan at Jamestown.

2012-01-10T13:49:00.000-08:00

plane2lisbon said...

Hello,

Thanks for posting our video. I'm Dan Smith, the Jamestown Rediscovery archaeologist you see digging in the well in this one. We're not sure why we find so many metal tools in the bottoms of wells. One theory is that they were used as bucket weights—they would be tied to the handle of a bucket to get it to tip over and fill with water after hitting the water's surface. Our head curator, Bly Straube, isn't convinced that's the reason, though.

In answer to Le Loup's questions, we find almost everything that was used on a daily basis in the wells. Once wells went bad—maybe from an animal falling in and spoiling the water, but more often here at Jamestown because the brackish James River water and nearby swamp water eventually seeped into the reservoir and made the water undrinkable—they were turned into trash pits. Like Gorges Smythe wrote, that turns the well into a treasure trove for us because of all the information waiting to be rediscovered. We've found a number of wells here, but never a privy. The wells alone have yielded about a million of the two-million-plus artifacts we've found here at Historic Jamestowne since 1994, so we're not complaining.

Thanks, again, for posting the video. Three more well videos, the first and second wells the colonists dug, and a third, brick-lined well can be found at:

http://www.youtube.com/user/JamestownRediscovery#p/u/24/owYBccAs8UU

http://www.youtube.com/user/JamestownRediscovery#p/u/17/ONQQMmUxz-4

http://www.youtube.com/user/JamestownRediscovery#p/u/13/l1rZR

My thanks to Dan for this information, very much appreciated Dan.

Keith.

18th Century Haversack/Scrip Detail.

2012-01-10T00:28:00.000-08:00

I have recieved a request to show more detail of my Scrip/Haversack. My haversack once belonged to a very close and dear friend of mine who made this bag out of an old canvas stockman's coat he found cast away at the tip. It was originally made for the 19th century, so I have changed the method of securing the flap, by adding three button holes and three pewter buttons.

The leather strap is stitched to the canvas with no reinforcing patch on the inside.

I only use this Scrip/Haversack for carrying trail foods or extra items for a long trek,or for foraging when in the forest.

Soldier's Costume Guide 17th Century.

2012-01-09T23:25:00.000-08:00

Ready To Wear, 1640s Style.
http://thegoodwyfe.blogspot.com/2011/12/soldiers-costume-guide.html?showComment=1326179773033#c8544679985648855808

Research & Authenticity.

2012-01-08T18:09:00.000-08:00

Way back 30 years or so when I first got into living history I did not have a computor and I lived a long way from any town. But an American chap I met at a black powder pistol club showed me a "Buckskinning" magazine. I followed many things I read in those magazines not realising that the authors had not done their research properly, and so I was missled. Now I know better, and I challenge what I read. Recently I saw a video from a well known American dealer showing what was supposed to be 18th century kettles. When I asked them for documentation, they supplied a quote from the maker!!!

Correct historical documentation should be primary documentation. That is the written word from someone writing in the period, in my case that would be a writer in the early to mid 18th century such as Peter Kalm for instance. Or it could be documentation in the form of a period painting, such as these by Chardin in 1732. These images show period copper kettles, but look at the size of the originals in comparison to the lower one being sold by some of today's dealers.

Being made of the same materials is not enough, the fact is this is a 19th century kettle not the larger type made in the 18th century.

The other thing that prompted this post is a post on a new blog belonging to a young man who I am aquainted with. His very first post sais that he has read that Longhunters wore their waist/equipment belts back to front for comfort and so they could wear a pouch in front. To my knowledge this is not correct, and I have found no documentation to back this up. This rumour started way back when a well known living historian misinterpreted some information. The written word stated that the belt was "tied" at the back, not buckled. Now to me this means a sash, sashes are tied, but not leather waist belts.

At the time I read this I remember trying it out myself as experimental archaeology. It was not very succsessful. Have you ever tried to buckle a belt at the back? Have you ever been caught short and had to take such a belt off?! No, it does not make any sense at all. The sash was often tied at the back because it stopped the fringe from getting caught in the brush when in the forest. But the belt was and is buckled in the front. I have never had any discomfort from a belt buckle of normal period size worn at the front.

Finding an 18th century image of someone wearing a waist belt with the buckle in front proves nothing, but I think we can safely assume that this was the most common way of wearing a belt. I can't say if any woodsman did not wear his belt backwards, I can only suggest that you try it yourself and come to your own conclusion.

My belt pouch is worn to one side as was the popular way. When wearing a cartridge box for militia duties I place the buckle to the side of the pouch, not behind.

Sash tied at the back to keep the fringe out of the way.

I have read of a sash lore. When men were visiting they had a way of comunicating their wishes to the opposit sex. To wear the fringe at the back as above, meant that you were not looking for a relationship. To tie the sash on the side meant that you were not actively looking for a lady, but you were open to suggestions. To wear the fringe hanging down directly in front meant that you were actively seeking a relationship with a woman. A very good idea I think.

New Living History Events-Australia.

2012-01-08T16:45:00.000-08:00

A brand new event is being set up and will become an annual
event from 2012 onwards and that is the All-Arms training Weekend
(more details to follow) which will take place on 19-20th May 2012 and
then the last weekend in June from 2013 onwards. So all in all we
should now have a framework of events that will go from strength to
strength from year to year and see some fantastic larger events
happening!
So looking to the future the Annual Major Events Calendar from 2013
should look like this:
March (first w/e) - Timeline - Battle event (Vic)
April (last w/e) - Ironfest - Battle event (NSW)
June (last w/e) - All-Arms Training - Training event (Vic)
August (last w/e) - Ball - Social event (Vic)
October (First w/e) - Taminick - Live Firing event (Vic)
Other events to consider:
July (mid) - Bastille Day - Skirmish event (Vic)
November (mid) - Holy Plains - Skirmish event (Vic) - alternate even
years (2012, 2014, 2016 etc)
Kind Regards
Adrien Rousset
D Troop 15th Kings Light Dragoons (Hussars)
Honorary Colonel-in-Chief: Bernard Cornwell
Part of the World Wide Cooperative of 15th Hussar Unitswww.15thhussars.com www.dtroop15thhussars.com
For the King! (or Emperor!), For Re-enactment! But most of all for FUN!

Rae's Wool Shop. NSW Australia.

2012-01-08T16:35:00.000-08:00

Fleece, yarn, and if you ask nicely Rae may knit you some stockings.
http://www.etsy.com/shop/raeplacebofreak

A word from Rae: Rae said...

It's worth mentioning that I can dye up custom coloured fleece or yarn or large batches at no additional cost.

Ranging Way of War

2012-01-07T13:44:00.000-08:00

Massacre at Fort William Henry Fact, Fiction & Legacy

2012-01-07T13:37:00.000-08:00

Simple but Affective!

2012-01-07T00:00:00.000-08:00

Filleting Fish.

2012-01-06T16:04:00.000-08:00

An Interesting Short Article On Stilton Cheese.

2012-01-06T12:42:00.000-08:00

http://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/news/et-business/business-news/stilton_cheese_battle_could_end_up_in_court_1_3397494

Woods Lore. About Australian Snakes.

2012-01-05T20:35:00.000-08:00

I was out picking Lemon Balm this afternoon and came across an Eastern Brown snake. Fortunately he went away from me, as I have found most snakes will when they can. The majority of people that get bitten do so when trying to catch or kill a snake, or because they trod on one. We used to get a lot of King Brown snakes in our house in the Territory, even found one in our child's cot when I went to lay him down one day!
NEVER step over a log or downed tree if you can't see what is on the other side. Mostly you won't be able to see the other side close to the tree. Go around the tree/log or step up on the log/tree and stop & look before your next step.
Mostly we get Eastern Brown snakes and Red Bellied Black snakes around here, but we did have a Tiger Snake kill one of our dogs some years ago. Mostly a snake will move away from you if it senses you are near, but if you are hunting or stalking and walking quietly, then you may get closer to a snake than you want to!
Learn to identify the snakes common to your area. Learn first aid. Always carry bandages when in the bush. Look where you are walking and sitting.

This video below is the best one I have come across so far.

Women In Men's Clothing. 18th century, travelling on Louis Antoine de Bougainville's expedition

2012-01-05T15:11:00.000-08:00

Jeanne Baret disguised herself as a boy so she could travell with Louis Antoine de Bougainville's expedition. This was in 1764, and women were not allowed on French Navy ships at this time.

More goodies found at Jamestown.

2012-01-05T14:34:00.000-08:00

Amazing discovery!!! from the bottom of a well at Jamestown

2012-01-05T14:27:00.000-08:00

My Historical Trekking Medical Kit.

2012-01-05T12:10:00.000-08:00

I had two requests yesterday to make a video about my medical kit. At first I thought it was not worth my while, and said so. But on further reflection I decided that perhaps I should. It is not the first time I have made the mistake of taking something for granted. So I made part 1 and 2 yesterday, and took some stills at the same time.
There is not much to my medical kit, and if I were going on a long trip I would add some items. But what I have suits me for the present. Bandages are for me the most important items. Originally I made my own, but these days I use modern bandages. You need bandages for breaks, cuts and snake bite.
Modern medical advice re snake bite sais you DON"T wash the area, and you DON"T suck on the wound! You simply bind the limb firmly over the bite area and work your way down the limb to the ankle or wrist, then bandage upward again, over the bite area to the top part of the limb. What you do next may depend on your situation. Best advice is don't move, stay where you are and rest. Low venom snake bite has been survived, high venom bites act very fast.
Some snake bites do not inject venom, and simply give you a warning strike. If you are on foot you will probably not get far if you try to walk out, but in the end the decision is yours depending on the situation and how you feel.
If you can get to a hospital, they can take a sample of the venom from the wound or bandage to identify the type of snake. If you can definately identify it all the better.
My advice is to stay away from snakes and they will mostly stay away from you.
The other item I rarely see in first aid kits these days is an eye wash glass. If you get something in your eye it can be very debilitating. Below are the few items I carry in my knapsack.

My leather drawstring medical pouch. Always important to disguise any modern equipment that you need to carry with you.

Nail scissors and tweezers. If I need larger tweezers I can use my round ball mould. The needles in my sewing kit are also used to remove splinters.

Salt. Handy for cuts and removing leeches.

Iodine. Note how the cork is secured with a leather tie.

I substitute this chemist bottle for an eye wash glass.

I would like to make it quite clear here that I will not compromise my health and safety for the sake of authenticity. Hence the modern bandages I carry and the suture needle and thread. I also recommend that anyone who participates in historical trekking attends a first aid course. Enquire at your local hospital.

MASSACRE AT SABBATH DAY POINT French and Indian War by Churms

2012-01-04T14:13:00.000-08:00

http://www.markchurms.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=M&Category_Code=historical_art

Ring Brooches For The 18th Century.

2012-01-03T19:48:00.000-08:00

Jason said...

"I am curious to know where you found an original 18th century brass blanket pin like this. There are certainly tons of silver shirt buckles.... There arent any surviving examples that are hefty enough to be used to secure a blanket though. Shirt buckles were relatively small and delicate in comparison".

These images below are all originals, but copies are available. They range in size from 2cm to 2 inches or more. They were made from iron, brass and silver. The Ring Brooch was popular from the medieval period right through to the 18th century, and they are still used today on kilts.

Remember what I have told you before, early items can be used later, but later items can't be used earlier.

Sorry this original is fuzzy, but I could not get a large image of it. It is in fact one and a half inches wide, the same size and type as my copy below.

A broken original the same size as those above.

A 17th century Ring Brooch.

This one titled an original Fur Trade Brooch.

18th Century Brooch For Securing My Half-Blanket.

2012-01-02T19:48:00.000-08:00

A close-up of the brooch I made from a brass ring which was a part of an old halter I had. I just added the brass pin. This is a copy of an 18th century original brooch.

On the right this brass pin is bent around the ring. If you are going to make one, do not heat the brass to bend, it will break. Always bend brass cold.

School of the Soldier notice.

2012-01-02T18:56:00.000-08:00

School of the Soldier notice
---------------------------------------
62d NYSV Company F

5th Annual School of the Soldier

Friday, March 9th to Monday, March 12th 2012

Tarago Campsite (NSW)

Details published soon.

For enquiries, contact the Company Clerk at:

Company Clerk's Desk
02 4889 9823 or 0425 319 857

Another Cheese Link!

2012-01-02T16:28:00.000-08:00

http://austenonly.com/2010/01/15/austen-only-emma-season-mr-eltons-cheese/

18th Century Cheese Link. Well worth reading re trail food & survival.

2012-01-02T16:02:00.000-08:00

The Old Foodie.
http://www.theoldfoodie.com/2012/01/certifiably-cheese.html

And: http://www.theoldfoodie.com/2012/01/dust-that-moves.html

Stilton, one of my favourite cheeses. Even after reading The Old Foodie's post!

(This image found at: http://austenonly.com/2010/01/15/austen-only-emma-season-mr-eltons-cheese/ )

About Period Blankets. Part 3.

2012-01-01T16:23:00.000-08:00

Colours.

Factory made dyes were unknown by the early settlers. They made their own dyes. White walnut bark was used to produce a light brown colour called butternut, the hulls of the black walnuts produced a dark brown, sumac bark produced a dark blue colour while black sumac produced purple and Indian paint root and black oak balls produced red. There was also an insect, the cochineal, which produced red dye when boiled. http://www.watersheds.org/history/furnishings.htm

Red- and blue-dyed blankets and duffields were traded for beaver-skins with the native Americans of Virginia and New England,

From: 'Witney borough: Economic history: economic life 1500 to 1800', A History of the County of Oxford: Volume 14: Bampton Hundred (Part Two (2004), pp. 77-88. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=116956 Date accessed: 30 December 2011.

Not only 'famously white' blankets, but also other specialized heavy broadcloths including dyed duffields, cuts for hammocks, wednel for horse-collars, and tilt-cloths for barges. (fn. 37) Rugs were also mentioned, (fn. 38) and in 1716 unscoured Witney cloths used for waterproof coverings or clothing were mentioned in a poem by John Gay, implying that they were widely known. (fn. 39)

From: 'Witney borough: Economic history: economic life 1500 to 1800', A History of the County of Oxford: Volume 14: Bampton Hundred (Part Two) (2004), pp. 77-88. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=116956 Date accessed: 30 December 2011.

Coverlets of 18th century America were twill-woven with a linen warp and woolen weft. The wool was most often dyed a dark blue from indigo, but madder red, walnut brown, and a lighter "Williamsburg blue" were also used. Weissman, Judith Reiter and Wendy Lavitt: Labors of Love: America's Textiles and Needlwork, 1650-1930, New York, Wings Books, 1987, ISBN 0-517-10136-X, p. 80-97

American Woven “Coverlids”

“Others, like the blue, orange, and black bed rug…..” http://www.history.org/foundation/journal/winter07/weaving.cfm

1688 James II, of England, prohibited exportation of un-dyed cloth from England to help bolster the home industry for English dyers over that of the Scottish dyers. http://www.straw.com/sig/dyehist.html

This is evidenced by writings such as Gervase Markham's The English Housewife, in which he suggests that a woman take her wool to the dyer, but also gives her some recipes should she wish to dye it herself.

Wool - naturally white sheep wool takes dyes extremely well and was the staple fabric for hundreds of years in Europe. Naturally coloured sheep were also common, and coloured fleece could be used both for its original colour and overdyed to make darker colours. http://fibers.destinyslobster.com/Dyeing/dyehistory.htm

Blankets were made of wool, linen, or the mixed cloth linsey-woolsey, and came in a variety of colours and patterns. Most were white or off-white; other colours were black, yellow, blue, red, brown, orange and green. Striped and checked blankets were also common. Locally manufactured blankets were issued to the troops at various times during the war, usually as a result of the donation by, or confiscation from, local civilians. (Originally published in The Brigade Dispatch, vol. 30, no. 2 (Summer 2000), 11-14) John U. Rees, © 2000, 2003. http://www.revwar75.com/library/rees/variety.htm

HUDSON BAY BLANKET WEIGHTS.

A full point measured 4 - 5.5 in.; a half point measured half that length. The standard measurements for a pair of 1 point blankets was: 2 ft. 8 in. wide by 8 ft. in length; with a weight of 3 lb. 1 oz. each. Points ranged from 1 to 6, increasing by halves depending upon the size and weight of the blanket.

A 1725 invoice listing merchandise for a trade company in Green Bay listed 2-point blankets, and a 1766 invoice from a Philadelphia company listed 4-point, 3-point and 2 1/2-point watch coats. http://hrd7.tripod.com/hbc/hbc.html

The points are the short black lines woven into the blanket just above the bottom bar or set of stripes. They are about 4 inches in length, unless they are half points, in which case they are 2 inches in length. The "point" system was invented by French weavers in the mid 18th c. as a means of indicating the finished overall size (area) of a blanket, since then, as now, blankets were shrunk or felted as part of the manufacturing process. The word point derives from the French empointer meaning "to make threaded stitches on cloth". Our first pointed blankets were made in 1780, although we had been selling unpointed blankets since our founding in 1670. http://www2.hbc.com/hbcheritage/faq/pointblanketfaq/

Editor’s Notes:

From all accounts so far no particular weight/points of Hudson Bay blanket was sold in any particular area, all sizes were available from 1 point to 6 point blankets in increases of half
points.

Hudson Bay Blankets.

PLEASE NOTE: It appears that the point system on blankets was not introduced until 1780ad, although Whitney were supplying blankets to the Hudson Bay as early as the 17^th century.

17th century plaid or "Plaide"

"Bed Cover" 1740-1760.

Obviously there were blankets being made in the homes. There were “spinsters”/spinners who spun other people’s wool fleece for them if required, just as there were weavers who would weave other people’s spun yarn. Daniel Boone’s Grandfather was a weaver in England.

Found in 1812.

Plant dyes were used to dye cloth, and the colours chosen were personal choice. The bottom line is that you can use whatever colour you want within those available from local plants.

More on plant dyes here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_dye

http://sites.google.com/site/kateannelong/plant

http://www.museum.state.il.us/muslink/pdfs/dye_plants.pdf

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dyeing

Made in England, my blanket dyed brown. It was pink!!!

By Griffing.

Griffing.

Le Nain 17th century.

About Period Blankets. Part 2.

2011-12-31T21:59:00.000-08:00

A 3-point blanket carried by Private Henry Marble of Massachusetts in the Revolutionary War. White wool, with 2 3/4 inch indigo blue stripes and points. Marble's blanket is in the foreground. Behind it is a 19th century 3-point Hudson's Bay blanket. Museum of the Fur Trade Collections, Chadron, Nebraska. Frederick C. Gaede and E. Bryce Workman, "Notes on Point Blankets in the Military Service," The Museum of the Fur Trade Quarterly, vol. 15, 2, (Summer 1979), 1-2.

8 lbs of gun powder 1 beaver 4 beavers
1 gun 2 beavers 5 beavers
40 lbs of lead 1 beaver 3 beavers
1 blanket of red cloth 1 beaver 2 beavers
1 white blanket 1 beaver 2 beavers
4 shirts 1 beaver 2 beavers
6 pairs of stockings 1 beaver 2 beavers
Montreal and Albany in the year 1689.

This is the "Rose" pattern placed in each corner of the Rose blanket.

Between 1711 and 1860 [the Early company] made what became known as the "rose blanket"...[with] motifs embroidered in the four corners....[varying] between 9 and 21 inches in diameter. Blankets were woven in one long length weighing a hundred pounds....The decoration was put on to show where the length should be cut up into individual blankets....Rose blankets were popular in America.

http://ugrrquilt.hartcottagequilts.com/rr5

http://www.stroud.gov.uk/info/ihca/4.pdf

A 17th century Whitney Blanket Trade Token.

18th century Whitney Trade Token.

These are bona fide private coins issued by traders in times of acute shortage of coin of the state to enable trading activities to proceed. The token is a pledge redeemable in goods or in coin of the state, i.e. the face value of the coin represents the real value of the official coinage.

http://www.tokencoins.com/hist1.html#two

Cabin blankets for use at sea were first made in the early 18th century [3]. Many of these blankets would not have been of the best quality and were plain unbleached or dyed grey or olive. Townley.

http://witneyblanketstory.org.uk/WBP.asp?navigationPage=Blanket%20types

My Half-Blanket which I wear over my shoulders in winter. It is held together in front with an 18th century brooch.

, and one rug, most often GREEN or RED, although other colours have been noted. Typically, blankets were counted by the PAIR or in twos, whereas rugs came singly.
From: 'Ruff band - Rutherine', Dictionary of Traded Goods and Commodities, 1550-1820 (2007). URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=58859 Date accessed: 30 December 2011.

Father Pierre Briard relates in the work Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents that in 1611 the Arcadian Indians "often wear our capotes, and in the winter our bed blankets which they improve with trimming and wear double". Also around this time Mother Marie de L'Incarnation recorded that she saw Indians wearing coats made from trade blankets.

Indians used white, red and blue blankets. "In 1663, ten Normandy "white" blankets are listed among the goods belonging to the trader Jacques Testad dit Loforet. The term "Normandy" refers to the location of textile manufacture. In 1693, during a council held in Montreal involving the French authorities and twelve foreign Indians tribes "no less than 83 white blankets were given as presents." Another important aspect of these blankets were that some bore embellishments such as red or blue stripes at their borders, embroidery, and lace. In fact we see that when the trader Jean Mailhot died in 1687 an inventory of his "la morte" possessions included "seven blankets made of capote cloth trimmed with nonpareille lace". (a very narrow strip of ribbon which was made of false gold, silver or silk) Drawings by Jesuit Missionaries recorded that this trimming in many instances was done in a zig zag pattern and consisted of two pieces of lace.

The actual sizes of trade blankets also differed. During the 1690's the French introduced the "point system". The term "point" then referred to a unit of measurement. In fact the French verb " ‘empointer’ was used to describe that action of making stitches with a thread on a piece of cloth". The historical norms of these blankets ranged from 1 to 5 points, 5 being the largest and 1 being the smallest known as "cradle blankets". http://www.scarletscarab.com/blanket-history.htm

Words That say It Like It Really Is.

2011-12-31T19:17:00.000-08:00

There is more than one way to explain something, but this quote I think is very good. It is hard to explain the feeling I get when touching original artifacts, and even copies! Hard to explain the feeling of dressing in period clothing and using 18th century items whilst trekking and camping in period style without anything to remind you of the 21 century.

I found this quote over at Frontier Partisans http://frontierpartisans.com/481/touching-the-past/#comment-226

“A feeling of immediate contact with the past is a sensation as deep as the purest enjoyment of art; it is an almost ecstatic sensation of no longer being myself, of overflowing into the world around me, of touching the essence of things, of through history experiencing the truth.”—Johan Huizinga, historian

Thanks for passing this on Jim.
Keith.

Pioneer Handbooks: - Free downloads from the pioneers and settlers are here.

2011-12-31T18:22:00.000-08:00

Pioneer Handbooks: - Free downloads from the pioneers and settlers are here.

Still on the stick.

2011-12-31T17:58:00.000-08:00

As some of you may know I am recently returned home from having a complete hip replacement. That means no woodsrunning for me for a while. As well as regular special excersizes I also have to go for a walk every day. It has been so wet here of late that walking off the track has not been possible. So I am restricted to walking our forest road to our front gate and back again, which is about 1Klm there and back. This morning being my first walk of 2012, I decided to take some photos and share them with anyone who is interested. Unfortunately I run out of room on the digital card before I reached the gate!

Looking back at the main house, "Linstock" and over Butterfly Valley to the forest beyond. As you can see, plenty of room for historical trekking.

Here Linstock is to the left, and this is looking up the road which leads to "Elm Cottage", which we use as a club house for the New England Colonial Living History group 1680-1760.

Starting my decent down toward "Bull Ant Bend". When I first put this track in, I encountered a large bull ant's nest right on that bend. It remained there for many years and was not a good place to hang around!

Bull Ant Bend looking further down the track. Old Fort Henry is just off to the right in Henry's Wood which is seperated from the rest of Wychwood Forest by this track.

Round the next bend.

In the distance you can see open pasture belonging to a "Brumby" farm. This is where they train the wild horses for sale. Our gate is still a little further on round the next bend. Henry's Wood to the right, the rest of the forest to the left.

Looking into Henry's Wood at the old fort.

A small stack of firewood drying in the sun ready for next winter. Green stacks like this and larger are dotted about the forest. Mostly we cut dry wood and carry it back to the wood shed, but when trees fall, then we sometimes cut them green and stack them to dry like this.

Another view of the open woodland in Henry's Wood, named after my Father. He never got to see this place, but I know he would have loved it here. Mostly Stringybark trees with some Yellow Box and Mountain Gum.

This is a Mountain Gum, very similar to look at as the Manna Gum. Can you see the Currawong centre picture? A black and white bird about the size of a Raven and similar to our Magpie but a little larger and not so much white as the Magpie. Just look at that big blue sky!

Elm Cottage with it's two chimneys, kichen on the left, living room on the right. It has solar power now as my youngest son uses one room to store some of his art work.

The living room 18th century style fire place with chains and hooks for hanging kettles. No solar lighting in this room, just candles, grease lamps and rush lights. Group members are able to bed down on the floor in this room if they wish to stay over.

So, 2012 has arrived!

2011-12-31T16:23:00.000-08:00

Many think that this year is the beginning of the end of the world as we know it. Personally I keep an open mind. I have seen some things in my time that some would not believe or understand. I am pretty sure that I can handle anything that comes my way short of a nuke!

Here I must thank all of you that have followed this blog for as long as you have. To those who have taken the time to comment on my posts, my sincere thanks. Your questions and feedback are very much appreciated, and often they prompt me to do further research and give me ideas for more posts. It is you that keeps this blog going. Without you I would have no need to keep posting.
My very best wishes to you all for a good year in this 2012 and beyond.

About Period Blankets. Part One.

2011-12-30T22:14:00.000-08:00

18^th Century Wool Blankets.

White blankets were very popular in the 18th century. This white blanket coat is good cover in the snow, but not so good when there is no snow on the ground.

The wool blanket is a vital part of any 18^th century travellers equipment. Wool blankets have also been used as matchcoats and for making blanket coats, leggings and moccasin liners.

“…a most terrible Storm came on…we are quite without shelter…passing our Time sitting in the Snow under an Oak with a Blanket wrapped round us.”
~ David Thompson, Northern Plains, 1798 .

I have been researching 18^th century blankets, both trade blankets and home hand woven blankets, bed-rugs and coverlids, and the information has been very hard to find! The harder it got, the more convinced I was that this research needed doing. This research will be ongoing, as I find most of my research is, but at least I can publish what I have so far in the hope that it may help other Living Historians.

Here is my friend Mungo's blanket lean-to, which is a reasonable example of how one might construct such a shelter. More here: http://www.mungosaysbah.com/2008/10/walk-in-valley-how-to-build-simple-lean.html

An interesting historical fact is that some people in the 18^th century used their blankets to make shelters rather than wrapping the blanket around them for warmth, as in this example: “…setting poles slantwise in the ground, tying others cross them, over which we spread our blanket and crept close under it…”
~ John Bartram, near Lake Ontario, 1743 (Bartram, 38 ). But since reading similar quotes I have found the following: in 1716 unscoured Witney cloths used for waterproof coverings or clothing were mentioned in a poem by John Gay, implying that they were widely known.

And the poem: 'True Witney Broad-Cloth with its Shag unshorn/Unpierc'd is in the lashing Tempest worn . . .': quoted in Plummer and Early, Blanket Makers, 42.

From: 'Witney borough: Economic history: economic life 1500 to 1800', A History of the County of Oxford: Volume 14: Bampton Hundred (Part Two) (2004), pp. 77-88. URL:/ www.britishhistory.ac.uk/report.aspxcompid=116956&strquery=unscouredcloth Date accessed: 31 December 2011.
Which begs the question, were these travellers using “True Whitney Broadcloth blankets? Something to at least consider.

An old lean-to frame in Henry's Wood.

bearskin : A particular sort of thick, shaggy woollen fabric (18th century) http://belovedlinens.net/fabdico/textile-dictionary-b.html

BEARSKIN a coarse, very thick woollen finished with a shaggy nap. As well as being made in Norwich, much cloth of this kind was produced in East Norfolk. http://www.norwichtextiles.org.uk/info/research-resources/glossaries

what did we ever realize from this ample store - why, perhaps a coat (we generally did get that) and one or two shirts, the same of shoes and stockings, and, indeed, the same may be said of every other article of clothing - a few dribbled out in a regiment, two or three times a year, never getting a whole suit at a time … all of the poorest quality, and blankets of thin baize, thin enough to have straws shot through without discommoding the threads ...

“I marched with only my military suit, and my implements of war, without any change of dress or even a blanket ..."During the post-battle American retreat from Germantown Morris was captured by British soldiers, "and marched back to Germantown under a guard." His waiter made his escape, taking with him Captain Morris’s "blanket and provisions with a canteen of whiskey ..."That night having had no refreshment and "no blanket or any covering to shield me from the cold," he asked a sympathetic British officer for assistance. After being given some food he was brought "a large and clean Rose blanket ... for my use that night, I accordingly went out into the field, and lay down among the soldiers who were prisoners, wrapped myself in the blanket, kept my hat on my head, and slept soundly through the night..." Memoirs of James Morris of Litchfield, Conn., Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty - Land - Warrant Application Files, National Archives Microfilm Publication M804, S16204.

A fragment from the corner of a Rose Blanket. The Rose blanket had one of these in each of the four corners.

Wool and woollen cloth making has been an important trade and industry in the Cotswolds and West Oxfordshire for hundreds of years. This was mainly because the local landscape is made up of large areas of open limestone grasslands or hill pasture which is very good for breeding and grazing sheep. Witney itself was sited on a fast flowing river useful for powering cloth-fulling mills and it also had good road networks connecting it with important trading centres [1]. A History of the County of Oxford XIV - Witney and its Townships
Townley, Simon(editor). http://www.witneyblanketstory.org.uk/wbp.asp?navigationPage=Brief%20history

My old white Whitney blanket, no nap left on it any more. Where it has become threadbare, I have sewn on some "real" bearskin.

Some info on Grease Lamps on Frontier Carpenter.

2011-12-30T13:29:00.000-08:00

http://frontiercarpenter.blogspot.com/2011/12/imagine-how-much-we-depend-upon.html

Editor's Note: I used to melt our fat in water to make the tallow. Sometimes changing the water several times after letting it cool. Salt & heavy particles sink to the bottom, leaving the refind tallow on the surface. We lived for 20 years or so without electricity & used tallow candles & fat lamps for lighting. These were the days of early to bed & early to rise.

Keith.

Heavy Horse Group in Armidale NSW!!!

2011-12-29T12:31:00.000-08:00

http://las.new-england.net.au/2011/12/29/heavy-horses-on-show/comment-page-1/#comment-11179

More on Women in Men's Clothing. A Link.

2011-12-29T12:12:00.000-08:00

Paulin's Pirates and Privateers Blog: http://paulinespiratesandprivateers.blogspot.com/2011/12/lady-pirates-lower-class-female.html

Grinding Grain.

2011-12-27T22:15:00.000-08:00

Teaching Teamsters: Logging Trials at Sterling College

2011-12-27T12:42:00.000-08:00

New England Colonial Living History Group 1680-1760. My Avatar.

2011-12-27T00:01:00.000-08:00

http://eighteenthcenturylivinghistory.freeforums.org/

Armidale NSW Australia. Membership FREE.

Australian NSW 18th Century Living History Groups.

2011-12-26T23:42:00.000-08:00

AUS
- NSW

(10 Oct 10)
The New England Colonial Living History Group

"Wychwood" - MSF 2007
Armidale 2350 NSW

Keith Burgess
Phone:02 67755292 Fax: -

1680-1760ad

(04 Aug 06)
Regiment La Sarre

PO Box 227
St Peters NSW 2044

W Lincoln
Phone: 0411 422 144
Fax: (02) 9591 0100

1651 to 1795 French

Australian NSW Living History Traders.

2011-12-26T23:28:00.000-08:00

AUST
- NSW

(26 Oct 09)
Corps Sutler

PO Box 227
St Peters NSW 2044

Bill Lincoln
Mobile: 0411 422 144
Fax:-

Reenactment goods for many periods

(10 Mar 04)
Historica - Reenactment/Events/History

PO Box 1
Petersham NSW 2049

Brett Kenworthy or Stephen Gapps
Phone:
BK: 0419238611
SG: 0402 969 535
Fax: +61 2 6334 3025

Reenactment Events Management

(09 Apr 02)
Scott "Shanks" Jeffcott

NSW

Scott "Shanks" Jeffcott
Phone:0416009083 Fax: -

Blacksmith and Armourer

(02 Oct 00)
Birka Traders

PO Box 3003
Marrickville NSW 2204

Peter Beatson
Phone: - Fax:-

Medieval outfitting and supplies

(21 Oct 05)
Cote & Cutler Outfitters

14 Seventh Avenue
Katoomba NSW 2780

Bess and Karl Cook
Phone: 02 4782 7394
Mob:0411 125 518
Fax:02 4782 7980

Historic Clothing and Accessories

(15 May 04)
Full Tilt

Sherwood Park
176 Sunny Corner Road
Yetholme NSW 2795

Rod Walker
Phone: (H) 02 6337 5218 Fax: (02) 6337 5218

Provide quality jousting displays

(09 May 02)
James Wran

Lismore Northern NSW 2480

James Wran
Phone: (02) 6622 1479
Fax:-

Jewellery, Knives, Leather & Wooden Weapons

(01 Apr 09)
Kat Kiss

-
-

-
Phone: :0425 364 659
Fax: -

Costumier/Designer/Artist, Period costumes made to your specifications

(26 Oct 07)
Praxis

PO Box 361
Blacktown NSW 2148

Stephen Gapps
Phone: 0402 969 535
Fax: -

Early music - Dark Ages to 17th C

(16 Dec 08)Possum Forge

403 Searles Road
Eungai Creek NSW 2441

Richard Coumbe
Phone: (02) 6569 9284
Mob:0412 179 391
Fax:-

Artist Blacksmith: Cooking & Camping Accoutrements inc riveted cauldrons, spits, roman tent pegs etc

(03 Feb 05)Savvy Leather Design

40 Dowling Street
Northern NSW

Cheryl
Phone: -
Fax:-

Designer and Maker of leathergoods

(22 Aug 00)Ritual Vessels

40 Dowling Street
Arnecliffe NSW 2205

Sophia & Liam Raptis-Hale
Phone: (02) 9597-5329 Fax:(02) 9597-5329

Period pottery made to your specifications

(18 Mar 00)Sworded Forgery

19 Little Church Street
Windsor NSW 2756

Igor Marjanovic
Phone: (02)4577 8434 mob:0401 292 774 Fax:-

Arms,Armour,Blacksmithing, Leatherwork

(16 Jan 03)Talerwin Forge

PO Box 190
Rylstone NSW 2849

Alex. Scheibner
Phone:(02)6379 1364
Mob: 0428 791364
Fax:(02)6379 1364

Blacksmith, Arms & Armour, Blacksmith's & Armour's tools, Leatherwork, Woodwork and Custom knives

(19 Apr 03)Crusader Books

NSW

Tony Garrett/ Rick McQualter
Phone: - Fax: (02) 6288 4192

Books, Prints, Videos & Games

(23 Nov 04)
Bruce Webber

Muscle Creek Rd
Muswellbrook NSW 2333

Bruce Webber
Phone: (02) 6543 4523 Fax:-

(WW2 Allied/ Axis Reproductions / Originals)

(27 May 05)
The Sutlers Store

The Wilderness
Badja Road
VIA Numeralla NSW 2630

Tony Miller
Phone:(02) 6453 3125
Fax: -

18/19th cent WW2 (Clothing, Clothing Accessories)

(14 Sept 07)
Top Pots

PO Box 8024
Tumbi Umbi NSW 2261

Nick Howard
Mobile:0407 777 294
Fax: -

WW2 Helmets, Clothing, Clothing Accessories

Barker's Delight: or, The Art of Angling (2nd ed., 1659)

2011-12-26T22:58:00.000-08:00

http://ebooks.gutenberg.us/Renascence_Editions/barker1.html

Another interesting site. Historic Angling Enterprises.

2011-12-26T22:47:00.000-08:00

http://www.historicanglingenterprises.com/

18th Century Fishing.

2011-12-26T18:01:00.000-08:00

One of the things I love about 18th century living history is that there is always more to learn, always more skills and activities to participate in. One never gets bored.
I do not consider myself a fisherman, but I do enjoy fishing for food. I have only caught trout and catfish, and I must admit that I liked the catfish better than the trout. My gear is pretty simple, and I do not as yet own any fly fishing gear, but I find the thought of making my own flies very interesting.

An 18th century horse hair fly fishing line.

Just one of the many period flies to be found at:

http://seventeenthcenturyflies.blogspot.com/

My fishing tackle tin with linen lines and hand forged hooks with sinew leaders.

More flies from: http://ballindalloch-press.com

I Found A New Period Blog!

2011-12-26T17:34:00.000-08:00

I found a new period blog whilst researching fly fishing. Check it out here:

Medieval and Renaissance Flies

That Time of Year.

2011-12-26T16:23:00.000-08:00

That Time Of Year.

Had I not been in hospital, I should have written this way before Xmas. Never mind, better late than never. For some of us this is the season for historical trekking, regardless of whether you are in the Northern or Southern hemisphere. Personally I dislike trekking & camping in summer in Australia, I prefer the winter, though actually right now there is a cool breeze blowing through the forest & it is very pleasant out.

For me this is a time to check over my gear in readiness for winter. There are rarely any repairs to do these days, because I tend to repair items of gear & clothing whilst in camp. But for many newbies there may still be period items to improve on or add to your gear. Not that I am recommending that you add more stuff, but some small items are indispensible. Such as thread winders.

Copies of originals are generally not expensive, and they are very easy to make yourself from bone or horn. In the 18^th century linen and silk thread came in skeins, and for use they required winding on to a thread winder. Of course you could just use a piece of stick, but a proper thread winder takes up little room in the sewing kit and looks good as well.

My sewing kit or "housewife". Another easy item to make. The pin cushion on the end I stuffed with natural greasy fleece. In the pocket I have beeswax, more linen thread, and sinew for repairing the soles on my moccasins and some spare bone buttons.

There are various styles of thread winders, but this style I found the easiest to make. I made this one from horn.

Spools of silk thread a close friend sent me as a gift. I need to transfere some of this thead on to thread winders. Silk is very strong and can be used as fishing line. Traditionally it has been used for making fishing flys. Some of this will go into my fishing kit.

Pioneer Handbooks: - The proof of pioneer weatherproofing.#comment-form

2011-12-26T12:45:00.000-08:00

Pioneer Handbooks: - The proof of pioneer weatherproofing.#comment-form

PLEASE NOTE: Problem Detected In DVD Burner!

2011-12-25T22:42:00.000-08:00

PLEASE NOTE: To all those who have purchased my Primitive Skills DVDs.
Recently we noticed that our DVD burner is registering the wrong DVD length, ie 140 minutes instead of 120 minutes. This means you will still have recieved a full DVD, but the content may differ from the index. If you find any discrepency such as a part of a series missing EG part 2 of something but no part 1, please let me know & I will replace it free of any charge.
Thank you.
Regards, Keith aka Le Loup.