tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2803969651277143887.post8740646148396648707..comments2024-01-30T04:15:42.071-05:00Comments on British Tars, 1740-1790: Jack Tar in Mass Media: The American RevolutionKyle Daltonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13428848890576823316noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2803969651277143887.post-86264780337340971582016-01-10T08:27:27.763-05:002016-01-10T08:27:27.763-05:00I thoroughly enjoyed "Longitude!" A damn...I thoroughly enjoyed "Longitude!" A damnably entertaining miniseries, even if the third act of the last episode dragged a bit. Have you, by chance, seen the travelling exhibit "Ships, Clocks, & Stars?" A wonderful summation of John Harrison's accomplishments, and the effect the chronometer has had on the world.Kyle Daltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13428848890576823316noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2803969651277143887.post-41717301109410230992016-01-08T23:09:35.756-05:002016-01-08T23:09:35.756-05:00I study Anglo-American sailor's clothing for p...I study Anglo-American sailor's clothing for period prior to your site's period of interest, 1680-1740. I did my thesis on the subject as well. For media depictions that are better, the made for TV "Longitude" from 2000 may be of interest. The first voyage depicted in the show is in 1736. Practically every depiction of sailors from my period of interest fall into two common traps, either conforming to an image created by writers/artists in the late nineteenth century or just directly copying common conceptions of maritime attire from the later eighteenth century/early nineteenth century. In the case of "Longitude," there is some improvement. For instance, the crew is not outfitted in mostly blue jackets or coats - something that didn't happen in my period of interest. I was particularly impressed with how the officers didn't all wear blue for a change. I was also quite satisfied to see many sailors wearing breeches rather than all of them in open-kneed wide breeches (most people today refer to them as "slop breeches") and trousers. Also, plenty of sailors wore their neck cloths at the proper position, close to the neck rather than open, loose, and away from the neck. There appeared to be waistcoats and jackets among the common sailors of appropriate skirt length and cut for the period - a refreshing change (though said crew appeared to go about with shirts only a remarkable amount of the time, not to mention lacking shoes). <br /><br />There are other voyages depicted in the show that fall into your period of interest (though not the American Revolution), I would recommend viewing "Longitude" for the maritime attire, if you haven't already. "Longitude" being more accurate doesn't surprise me that much since the producers of this show produced other historical maritime content that also made a lot of effort by Hollywood standards of accuracy (the company being ITV, many of the companies/channels that were or would become part of ITV made this show and many others with maritime settings). David Fictumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11958462172050275883noreply@blogger.com