Brigand Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 By coincidence, I stumbled upon these images of costumes from the days gone by: Edit: They are apparently from Carreras's Cigarettes series "History of Naval Uniforms" (1937). There should be 50 of them. Since they are collectors cards from a sigarette brand, distributed with packs of smokes, they may not be period correct. On the other hand, I found them on a website dealing with dresses, clothing and fashion through history, so that leads me to believe that they may be reasonably accurate. Master, 1777 Midshipman of 1775-83 Lieutenant, 1773 Gunner, 1750 Seaman, 1744 Post Captain, 1740 Master mariner, 1740 Admiral, 1704 Seaman of 1690 Seaman, 1663 Ship's officer, 1651 Seaman of 1608 Seaman, 1588 Ship's officer - circa 1574 Seaman of the Cinque Ports (1509-47) Sailor of the Drake Period, circa 1574 Tudor period (1485-1509) Seaman, 1480 Cheers, Brigand 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Redmen Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 (edited) Great find. Information on the period's uniforms can be difficult to locate. Interestingly, there were no official uniforms in the British Royal Navy until the late 1740s. Captains wore the clothing of a nobleman and dressed their crews however they saw fit. Edited February 19, 2015 by Jack Redmen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Hood Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 Then Lord Anson came along and put some order in place 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Portsdown Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 Be careful. These are drawings of how a Cigarette Card illustrator conceived things in 1937, not a modern view, not an academic view nor a view contemporary with the clothing illustrated. Thats not to say that they are WRONG - just don't take them as gospel and, perhaps, do a little Googling before accepting them as your best source. For example, here is a link to some drawings (mostly) by Thomas Rowlinson of how Royal Navy crew looked in his day, 1799. So its probably a good source - but always double check, he may have idealised or caricatured his subjects. In fact its clear from the drawings that he has, just look at that Purser! http://www.portcities.org.uk/london/server/show/ConGallery.57/Ranksin-Nelsons-navy.html Often your best bet is to locate the website of a one of the better sets of Renactors / Living History organisiations for the period. They bring together information from many sources and add practical experience of actually wearing the clothes to produce something that is often the best view of how people dressed at the time that can be obtained today. However even then be wary - some organisations will dress to please the viewer and others may do so on occasion - for example when they are appearing in a specific pageant or as extras in a film. Almost all will be a lot cleaner and sweeter smelling than their historical personages though. However, yet again, it pays to be careful. Royal Navy sailors on 'a run ashore' primped themselves up and wore their best clothes and were anyway generally cleaner than the populace, due to the RNs obsession with keeping everything, including the men, aboard ship clean and, therefore, healthy. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brigand Posted February 19, 2015 Author Share Posted February 19, 2015 Be careful. These are drawings of how a Cigarette Card illustrator conceived things in 1937, not a modern view, not an academic view nor a view contemporary with the clothing illustrated. I found then on a website which is about cloths and old fashion, that is why I initially accepted them as probably correct. Only after more searching, I found they came from as collection cards with a pack of sigaretes. So they may indeed be less accurate than I thought at first. Often your best bet is to locate the website of a one of the better sets of Renactors / Living History organisiations for the period.I found renactors to be a mixed blessing. On the one hand, you have people who try to fatefully bring history back to live. On the other hand, there is also crap like 'Society for Creative Anachronism' (not to speak of 'Fantasy Renactment') which does a lot to delude history to make it fit their own fantasies and then going out of their way to refabricate sources to make 'history' fit their imagination. I find it very hard to spot the differences. ~Brigand Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Redmen Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 I've found the best resources to be museums. The National Maritime Museum has quite a few uniforms in it's collection and you can find a lot of them on their website. There were a few other websites I found some years ago, but I have lost them. Here are a few links to some info I think is pretty good. National Maritime Museum http://www.nmm.ac.uk/ You can view many of their exhibits online and search their archives http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Navy_ranks,_rates,_and_uniforms_of_the_18th_and_19th_centuries This is a wikipedia page so take it as you may, however this is an old established article I have found to be fairly accurate and quite informative http://www.st-george-squadron.com/sgs/wiki/index.php?title=1748_Pattern This is some research done by a society mate years ago and compiled on our society website. It has quite a few pictures, many of which came from sources like the National Maritime Museum 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Portsdown Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 I think a key point is that only certain people wore Uniforms, and even then they weren't worn by those people on every occasion or 'according to regulation' when they were. Otherwise you wouldn't have senior officers like John Jervis issuing orders to enforce the wearing of full uniform, with the correct hats (no 'Round Hats'). There were also cases of more traditional officers wearing obsolete uniforms and of Captains insisting that their officers wear flashy non-regulation dress. There would have been differences between nominally identical uniforms as well, depending on which tailor was used, how rich an officer was and how much sea-service had worn the clothes. Uniforms were anything but Uniform! Most importantly, the seamen had no uniform, although individual ships or fleets would be likely to have some common features in their mens dress, due to having been supplied with 'slops' from a particular contractor. They would also customise them - tailoring them themselves and doing things like sewing ribbons into the seams of their shoregoing rig. There were also specialist items of dress - if you look at the Rowlandson illustration of 'Chips' he is wearing the traditional woolly hat of the Ships Carpenter. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brigand Posted February 20, 2015 Author Share Posted February 20, 2015 Very true sir. I think you mention many valid points and I appreciate you take the time to reply once again. ~Brigand Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theuerdank Posted March 11, 2015 Share Posted March 11, 2015 (edited) But its clear, clothings, costumes are not only 17ct, 18ct different, you are nearly able to differ between decades, its obvious, at least 'officers', those are anytime very fashioned . I am member of the german society of historcial costumes and weaponry so my preferences are clear not to mix 1650 'hats' with 1750 'tricorns' but also clear game means for players most time implement all which looks cool 'to me'. So i will see wheather napoleonic 'uniforms' will be combined with 30 years war 'civil' clothing or baroque 1700 wigs. A small hope for me that it won't be like PotBs, there is to much operetta carnival costumes. Edited March 11, 2015 by Theuerdank 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leviathan Posted March 11, 2015 Share Posted March 11, 2015 Looks like images from some kind of twisted pin-up calendar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ned Loe Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 Sailor 1700 British sailors 18th century. Also, a very good article: http://www.st-george-squadron.com/sgs/wiki/index.php?title=1748_Pattern The First Royal Naval Uniform The First Royal Naval Uniform In 1748 the first regulations for a Royal Naval uniform for officers was released by the board of Admiralty. This was based on a number of designs submitted by senior captains and closely follows the fashion of the time. There are some items that are common to all uniforms and ranks. Though of course the quality would vary depending on the wealth of the officer. Hat: All ranks would wear a black tricorne with gold trim and a black silk cockade. Tie: A white silk tie would be worn by all ranks except Midshipmen. Shirt: White, the fashion was for large shirts. Breaches: Navy blue with brass buttons. Stockings: White Shoes/Boots: Black Contents [hide] 1 The First Royal Naval Uniform1.1 Variation within the pattern 1.2 Lack of consistent style 1.3 Forum Rank Insignia 2 Waistcoat / Vest 3 Dress Uniforms 4 Undress Uniforms 5 Source Material5.1 Midshipman 5.2 Lieutenant 5.3 Junior Captain 5.4 Senior Captain 5.5 Flag Officer On looking at the evidence there are two main issues that are not present with modern uniforms. Variation within the pattern This may be caused by artistic licence of the painter or variation of the uniform as each tailor interpreted the pattern. There was no single supplier of uniforms and tailors would have had little experience of naval uniforms or other examples to copy. This would result in some variation of the details. Lack of consistent style The admiralty invited a number of senior officers to submit designs for the first uniform. These were then presented to the board who selected either entire uniforms or details from each. This would explain why the dress and undress uniforms for Senior captains where so different in design. It doesn't even appear than one person designed all the undress and someone else designed the dress. Sir Augustus Kepple was one of the officers involved in the design process, and there's a strong possibility that he designed the undress uniform for junior and senior captains. This friction between styles was one of the main issues addressed in the 1767 pattern which replaced the 1748. If I was to guess I'd say that the Dress uniforms for Lieutenant, Senior captain and Flag officer where designed by one person and Midshipman and Junior Captain by another. The cuff style seems to support this although I've yet to find solid evidence of who designed what. Waistcoat / Vest Lieutenants, Captains and Flag officers each had a uniform waistcoat in white with gold edging. The same pattern was used in Undress and Dress uniform. Midshipmen did not have a waistcoat although a plain white waistcoat might have been worn. Midshipman Waistcoat Lieutenant Waistcoat Junior Captain (under 3 years) Waistcoat Senior Captain (over 3 years) Waistcoat Flag officer Waistcoat Uniform templates created by 'Not By Appointment' who owns the copyright. Permission given for non-profit use. Dress Uniforms There are dress uniform regulations available for Midshipmen, Lieutenants, Junior and Senior Captain and Flag officers. These uniforms would be worn at official engagements on shore or whenever the officer wished to look his best. It could also be worn during battle as a sign of respect to the enemy. Midshipman: Blue single breasted coat with white cuffs, blue 'mariners cuff' detail and brass buttons. The collar is turned down at the neck exposing the white lining. Plain white waistcoat (vest) with brass buttons, worn buttoned up to the neck. Lieutenant: Blue single breasted coat with large white cuffs and brass buttons. Waistcoat (vest) is white with simple gold trimming around the bottom, front and pockets. Junior Captain: Blue double breasted coat with white lapels buttoned back with brass buttons. White cuff with large 'mariners cuff' in blue. simple gold trim around the jacket and cuff. Waistcoat (vest) is white with simple gold trimming around the bottom, front and pockets. Senior Captain: Blue single breasted coat with large white cuffs and brass buttons. Double gold trim on the coat and 3 gold stripes on the large white cuff. Waistcoat (vest) is white with double gold trimming around the bottom, front and pockets. Flag officer: Blue single breasted coat with brass buttons. Single and large gold trip on the coat with gold trim button hole detailing. Large white cuffs with gold detailing. Waistcoat (vest) is white with double gold trimming around the bottom, front and pockets. Midshipman Dress Uniform Lieutenant Dress Uniform Junior Captain (under 3 years) Dress Uniform Senior Captain (over 3 years) Dress Uniform Flag Officer Dress Uniform Uniform templates created by 'Not By Appointment' who owns the copyright. Permission given for non-profit use. Undress Uniforms Undress uniforms where designed for everyday wear. Made of more durable fabrics to stand up to the rigours of life at sea. There was no undress uniform for Midshipmen, but all other officer ranks had an undress pattern. Lieutenant: Blue single breasted coat with large blue cuffs and brass buttons. Waistcoat (vest) is white with simple gold trimming around the bottom, front and pockets. Junior Captain: Blue double breasted coat with blue lapels buttoned back with brass buttons. White cuff with large 'mariners cuff' in blue. simple gold trim around the jacket and cuff. Waistcoat (vest) is white with simple gold trimming around the bottom, front and pockets. Senior Captain: Blue single breasted coat with large white cuffs and brass buttons. Double gold trim on the coat and 3 gold stripes on the cuff. Waistcoat (vest) is white with double gold trimming around the bottom, front and pockets. This appears to be the same as the Junior officer Dress uniform. Flag officer: Blue double breasted coat with white lapels buttoned back with brass buttons. Double gold trip on the coat with gold trim button hole detailing. Waistcoat (vest) is white with double gold trimming around the bottom, front and pockets. Lieutenant Undress Uniform Junior Captain (under 3 years) Undress Uniform Senior Captain (over 3 years) Undress Uniform Flag officer Undress Uniform Uniform templates created by 'Not By Appointment' who owns the copyright. Permission given for non-profit use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmdrbobcito Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 An interesting site for uniforms and other period eye-candy... https://www.pinterest.com/tantamoq/age-of-sail/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Surcouf Posted January 3, 2016 Share Posted January 3, 2016 French Royal Navy uniforms. By Jean Boudriot : http://ancre.fr/en/ouvrages-de-base-en/38-uniformes-de-la-marine-royale-17-18-siecles.html For periode to 1780 (French post) : http://forum.game-labs.net/index.php?/topic/3297-références-diverses-et-variées/?p=122100 http://forum.game-labs.net/index.php?/topic/3297-références-diverses-et-variées/?p=122104 http://forum.game-labs.net/index.php?/topic/3297-références-diverses-et-variées/?p=122106 Illustrations by J. Boudriot; the vessel of 74-guns - Volume 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Van Valkenburg Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 Below is an album of plates by the esteemed artist H. Charles McBarron detailing the evolution of Continental and later US Navy uniforms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wagram Posted January 29, 2016 Share Posted January 29, 2016 (edited) A few plates showing French Napoleonic naval dress. Ship officers uniforms (by P. Courcelle): Warrant officers and crew dress (by P. Courcelle and M. Pétard): http://miniaturasmilitaresalfonscanovas.blogspot.ch/2013/03/les-equipages-del-empereur-1804-1808.html Text belonging to the latter (Figurines 55, Décembre 2003 - Janvier 2004, p. 42; in French): Edited January 29, 2016 by Wagram 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frederik Fjeldabe Posted February 2, 2016 Share Posted February 2, 2016 The Uniform and Insignia website has a few nice plates on RN uniforms. Go to the following website, select United Kingdom, and scroll to the bottom of the page. http://uniforminsignia.org/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lefort Posted February 11, 2016 Share Posted February 11, 2016 A few plates showing French Napoleonic naval dress. Ship officers uniforms (by P. Courcelle): Courcelle, Uniformes marine de 1800 à 1815, officiers.jpg Warrant officers and crew dress (by P. Courcelle and M. Pétard): Courcelle, Uniformes marine de 1800 à 1815, troupe.jpg http://miniaturasmilitaresalfonscanovas.blogspot.ch/2013/03/les-equipages-del-empereur-1804-1808.html Text belonging to the latter (Figurines 55, Décembre 2003 - Janvier 2004, p. 42; in French): Pétard, Équipages 1804-1808, Text.jpeg if we get proper crew models everyone's going to want to play those classy gentlemen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon MacBeth Posted June 24, 2016 Share Posted June 24, 2016 http://www.thedearsurprise.com/royal-navy-uniforms-lt-william-hicks/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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