Saturday, August 17, 2013

Unusual Civil War Fashions


Here's a tintype I found offered in an online auction.
I have never seen that kind of shield appliqued to clothing before.
A fireman?



Another fascinating outfit.
The Union case and red, white and blue painted cockade indicate a Union sympathizer, but
this is not a soldier's clothing.

He seems to be wearing a cotton print, what might be called a conversation print,
with rather large images scattered about. The compass on the left might have to do with the Masons.
The imagery may be from fraternal organizations rather than political.


There's an arm and hammer, perhaps a labor organization logo.

This one is less mysterious. I flipped the picture over so the word would be correct.
 Daguerreotypes and ambrotypes are always reversed.
Perhaps she's dressed for a pageant or parade.

3 comments:

WoolenSails said...

Those are really interesting prints and would be fun to know who they were and what their role in the war was.

Debbie

JMac said...

Sometimes family members would have their picture taken with all of the uniform/mementos of their dead and beloved war hero. That's why some late Civil War potraits look funny.

Anonymous said...

I'm a reenactor, and I'm interesting in reproducing the Union sash in the last picture. I'd love to know more about that picture. Where did you find it?