The True British Tar, 1785

The True British Tar, Carington Bowles, 1785, British Museum.

Beyond the window lies a ship at anchor, but clearly our sailor is a bit more focused on the sacks of Spanish dollars he's procured. His table is scattered with coins and bedecked with bottles of Madeira. Lying against the box on which he sits is a neglected pipe, spilling its flames and smoking worryingly.

Our mariner wears a round hat lined with gold tape, and decorated with a blue bow (typical of works by Carington Bowles). Flowing from beneath is a wig with a long, tightly bound queue. Sailors of the eighteenth century wore their hair short, until just about this period when long and tightly bound queues begin to appear alongside should length and shorter hair styles. This is the earliest image I'm aware of that clearly shows a common sailor with a long, tightly bound pigtail or 'rattail.' His neckcloth is a sort of burgundy color, and fringed at the edges.

The jacket itself is blue, but it is impossible to tell if it is single or double breasted. Either way, it has brass buttons on both the front and the slash cuffs. Out of the jacket pocket, or perhaps spilling out through a rear vent, a burgundy handkerchief spotted in yellow hangs loose. His red waistcoat has white metal buttons, and a colorful blue ribbon and fob extends from beneath it.

Red striped trousers lead down to clocked stockings, pointed toe shoes, and yellow metal oval shaped buckles. The straps of his shoes are trained "sailor fashion."

Saint George for England, 1781

Saint George for England, Carrington Bowles, 1781, British Museum.

At the base of this print is a poem, surmounted by a bowl of punch:

Behold your Saint with Glorious English Fare,
Noble Sirloin, Rich Pudding and strong Beer.
For you my Heart's of Oak, for your Regale,
Here 's good old English Stingo Mild & Stale.
This Porter is by Famous Calvert made,
Justly Renowned of all the Brewing Trade.
Such cheer as this will make you Bold & Strong,
Who'd not on such a Noble Saint, Rely on.

Lifting his foaming tankard with a smile, our jolly tar is Saint George himself, patron of England. He is the first in a series of seven "Tutelar Saints" (meaning guardian saints) produced by Bowles. Each represents a different nation, riding a different mount, and carrying a different indulgence. Patrick on a horse with wine for Ireland, Andrew on a unicorn with snuff for Scotland, and David on a goat with leeks. The remaining three are for Spain, France, and Italy, but I have not yet found the images nor the saints connected with those.

I have often pointed out on this blog that the British nation was increasingly personified in the image of a common sailor as the eighteenth century progressed. Here we see that trend at its logical conclusion. Saint George is no longer a knight on horseback lancing a dragon, but is a sailor with a comically oversized sword driven through the white flag of France and raising a good Calvert & Co. porter to his victory.

His reversed cocked hat is festooned with a large badge bearing the cross of Saint George, and topped with acorns. Beneath it he wears a bob wig. George's dotted neckcloth is draped over his checked shirt, jacket, and sword.

Bowles couldn't decide on which pattern to make George's single breasted waistcoat, so he alternates between plaid, horizontally striped, and vertically striped. His jacket is piped in a plain tape, around the cuffs, lapels, and pocket. George's trousers end above the ankle and are remarkably wide bottomed. Plain stockings run into shoes with oval buckles.

The Banks of the Shannon, 1787

The Banks of the Shannon, published by Bowles & Carver, 1787, reprinted 1799, British Museum.

A colorful print, this Bowles and Carver piece touches on the Sailor's Farewell trope, but with a twist. The young gentleman clasps the hand of his crying sweetheart, but the insistent hand on his shoulder of a naval officer bids him away with the press gang. His lover gives us a tearful poem:

But woe is me the Press gang came and forc'd my Ned away,
Just when we nam'd next Monday fair to be our Wedding day.
 My love he cry'd they force me hence but still my heart is thine
All peace be yours my gentle Pat while War and toil is mine
With riches I'll return to thee, I sob'd out words of thanks
And then we vow'd eternal truth on Shannon's flow'ry Banks.

Among the many things that make this piece interesting is the fact that this is the River Shannon, and so the main figures are Irish. Upon reflection, I cannot think of any other prints, drawings, or paintings that I have examined that explicitly illustrated Irish tars. Scotch, American, and English certainly, but thus far the Irish have escaped notice. It is perhaps the leveling nature of the Wooden World (as NAM Rodger calls it) that makes them invisible to art. The overwhelming majority of images do not give any nationality to sailors. They are all of a kind.

Pat and Ned look clearly distraught, but the press gang seem to be enjoying this tearful parting.

With cudgel in hand, a grinning officer tugs at Ned's shoulder. Behind him are array the men of the press gang, and at least one of them also carries a cudgel.

They are uniformly equipped with black round hats that sport narrow upturned brims and big blue bows. Blue bows on round hats are typical of Bowles' prints. Most of the mariners are hidden behind the officer, but we do get a peek at a pair of white trousers with narrow vertical red stripes over white stockings.

There is one sailor in particular that we get a good look at.

His hair hangs down in brown curls and appear to just barely drape over the black silk neckcloth over his blue jacket with its slit cuffs. A red double breasted waistcoat with white metal buttons hangs above his plain white slops/petticoat trousers. The shading indicates that this waistcoat is not tucked in, and is cut off at the natural waist. He wears white stockings and pointed toe shoes.

Fill Up the Mighty Sparkling Bowl, 1752-1763

Fill up the mighty sparkling bowl, published by Carington Bowles, between 1752-1763, Yale Digital Collections.

Yale's Digital Collections states that this image is available on the excellent Lewis Walpole Library Digital Images website, but I was not able to track it down there.

This early Bowles' piece foreshadows his later and well known "Sailor's Pleasure." Just like that image, this print features a happy tar beside his bowl of punch. He fondles a filled glass and a very fine ladle. Below the image is a short poem detailing his delight:

Fill up the mighty sparkling Bowl,
That I a true and Loyal Soul -
May Drink & Sing without controul,
to Support my Pleasure.-
Thus may each Jolly Sailor live
When Fears and Dangers o'er -
For past Misfortunes never Grieve
When He's arriv'd on Shore.-
Let not future Cares perplex him,
Let him Laugh and let him Sing,
While he enjoys this Blessing,
He's as great as any King.-

He sure looks damnably pleased with himself! Our tarpaulin wears a black cocked hat without trim, point forward. On his right side is a single cloth covered button and loop. He wears his hair or wig curled, and it hangs down to the shoulder. At his collar is a fine white neckcloth.

His jacket is fairly typical at first glance, but a careful look inside the lapel reveals an unbuttoned waistcoat! There is unfortunately not enough detail on either the waistcoat or the jacket to make any assertions about whether or not they are lined. We can say that the jacket is without collar, and features rather nice mariner's cuffs. The cuff that we can see is clasped shut, save for the outermost buttons. I believe the buttons to be cloth covered, but am not confident enough to say for certain. Our sailor's shirt is a plain white garment.

The Modern Harlot's Progress, 1780

The modern harlot's progress, or adventures of Harriet Heedless / Harriet being discarded for her infidelity, takes lodgings, turns common, is attended by rakes and gamesters, and furnished by the millener, with dresses to continue her prostitution, Carington Bowles, 15 May 1780, British Museum.

This plate was taken from a book warning of a fall into immorality. Such novels were salacious and popular, widely imitated in art and literature throughout the late eighteenth century. In this image, Harriet Heedless (seated with a snuff box by an open hand of cards across the table from a sailor) has joined a bawdy house.

He wears a black round hat with an upturned brim bound in white tape. His neckcloth is black and is tried in a right fashionable way, with a large bow right at his neck. Jack also wears a red waistcoat with vertical stripes, though the colorist did not bother to differentiate the color of the stripe from the body of the fabric. His double breasted jacket is interesting in that the cuffs are buttoned right at the wrist, but otherwise open to reveal the shirt beneath; something I've not seen before. The upper part of his jacket lapels are buttoned back. In our tar's right hand is a long and narrow walking stick.

John Oakham Throwing out a Signal for an Enagement, 1781

John Oakham Throwing out a Signal for an Engagement, Sayer and Bennett, 1781, collection unknown.

John Oakham Throwing out a Signal for an Engagement, Sayer and Bennett, 1781, National Maritime Museum.

Lest we think that Carington Bowles was the only man to produce colorful images of sailors courting women under the cover of naval terms, here's a wonderful piece from Sayer and Bennett released in 1781. Not unlike many other images, the comely lady is enthralled by the sailor and (more specifically) the purse he dangles in his right hand. The "signal" is something largely unfamiliar to modern audiences: a "miser's purse." The miser's purse happens to look like a certain aspect of the male anatomy, a fact that is probably not lost on the artist or viewer. She returns his signal with a touch of her fan.

John Oakham wears a black round hat with gold tape and a large black bow on the left side. His hair is shoulder length and loose. A white collar is folded over a black neckcloth that hangs from its knot over a striped red waistcoat with cloth covered buttons. John's double breasted jacket is blue and lined in white, with slash cuffs and brass buttons. White slops, white stockings, and black pointed toe shoes with large rectangular buckles finish his slop clothes. Tucked under his left arm is a walking stick that he carries in a very handsome fashion.

In the National Maritime Museum version, the color of his jacket and waistcoat stripes are reversed, while his jacket buttons are white metal.

An English Man of War, Taking a French Privateer, 1782

An English Man of War, Taking a French Privateer, Carington Bowles, 1782, National Maritime Museum.

Yet another in the Bowles' series of sailors a-courting to the language of naval engagement, our splendidly attired jack does his best to capture the interest of a handsome French lady.

His black round hat has a narrow brim and a large blue bow on the left side. Jack's blue jacket is lined in white and bears brass buttons on its lapel and slash cuff. The neckcloth is tied into a preposterously large and elaborate bow at his neck, between the open ends of his double breasted waistcoat. Patterned with vertical narrow red stripes, the waistcoat matches his trousers. An elaborate gold fob peeks from under his waistcoat. His stockings are a light blue, and his pointed toe shoes bear rectangular white metal buckles.

The Sailor Riding to Portsmouth, 1782

The Sailor Riding to Portsmouth, Carington Bowles, 1782, British Museum.

In yet another print echoing the stereotype of sailors being awful equestrians, a frustrated (or terrified) jack sits astride a bucking steed, spilling his bowl of punch. Surrounding him are laughing men, including a red coated soldier.

The sailor wears a black round hat and a short brim with a large blue bow. Bowles was terribly fond of putting blue bows in his sailors' hats, but he was not the only one. The tar's white lined jacket ends at about the top of the thigh and is fitted with white buttons on both the front and the open mariners cuffs. The neckcloth that sways with the bucking horse is a very light red or violet and spotted, contrasting with the bright red double breasted waistcoat. Jack's trousers are narrowly striped in a pale red. Having lost the stirrup, the seaman's feet are kicked back, but he's managed to keep his black shoes with rectangular buckles on.

A Rich Privateer Brought Safe into Port by Two First Rates, 1782

A Rich Privateer Brought Safe into Port by Two First Rates, Carington Bowles, 1782, British Museum.

This is another in Bowles' series of prints using nautical language as a double meaning for scenes between sailors and women. In this one, a happy tar pours gold coins into his hat with a woman on each arm (the "First Rates"). Behind him is yet another "first rate" and in the doorway to the left is a mighty big dreadnaught with punch bowl.

Jack's flowing hair that extends past his shoulders. Beneath his white collar is a black neckcloth, tied in a fancy manner. The red waistcoat is double breasted with white metal buttons. His jacket is longer, ending about halfway down the thigh. It is single breasted with white metal buttons on both the lapel and the slash cuffs. We get an unusually good view of the lining, even including the inner stitching by the buttonholes! The seaman's trousers are striped in red, ending well above the ankles to show off the white stockings, pointed toe shoes, and oval buckles. His is a round hat, weighed down by the gold of his successful cruise.

Though not directly related to our examination, the misses pointed out the wonderfully colorful shoes on the First Rates!

Paul Jones Shooting a Sailor who had Attempted to Strike his Colours in an Engagement, 1779

Paul Jones shooting a Sailor who had attempted to strike his Colours in an Engagement, Carington Bowles from John Collet, 1779, British Museum.

This is taken from an incident during the famous battle between the Bonhomme Richard and Serapis, in which John Paul Jones confronted two officers who believed that Jones had been killed and called for quarter from the Serapis. Jones shouted, "Who are those rascals? Shoot them! Kill them!" Jones drew a pistol on them, but it had already been emptied at the British sailors on the Serapis, and so he threw it at one of the officers, knocking the man out cold. The image of Jones (clad in Scottish regalia) shooting a sailor in the face for striking the colors is obviously exaggerated.[1]

Even so, we get a good number of sailors in this image, and plenty of sailor clothes to go around!

The sailor being murdered wears no hat at all, but short cut hair. His neckcloth is blue spotted with blue and yellow, a short jacket of brownish-yellow that ends at the waist with no vents, and brass buttons on his cuff. His trousers are stripped in red.

Beneath him (looking rather shocked at the crime), a tar wears a a bandanna of blue spotted with white and yellow. His neckcloth is a light reddish-orange, which helps to conceal some of the blood pouring profusely from his head. His blue short jacket is without a collar and single breasted with brass buttons on both his lapel and cuff. His slops are white, and he wears stripped stockings! It could be that this is more common than we think, though it doesn't show up very often in illustrations. His shoes are rounded toe with rectangular white metal buckles.

Behind Jones and to the left is a sailor praying for mercy with clasped hands. He wears a short cap, possibly a longer "voyageur" style cap, but more likely a Dutch/Monmouth knit cap. His jacket is a light green, with slash cuffs and cloth covered buttons. The neckcloth is yellow, and his trousers or slops (it's impossible to tell) are off-white.

Beneath Jones' foot is a dead sailor with somewhat longer hair, though little more than shoulder length. His shirt (or waistcoat, the details are sparse) is white, and his short jacket is brown with white metal buttons.

Behind Jones is a bald mariner, mopping up the blood from his head wound with his purple and spotted yellow neckcloth. His shirt is white and plaid in blue, and his trousers are striped with vertical red lines. his shoes are rounded toe with rectangular white metal buckles.

Behind him, looking saddened, is a sailor (possibly an officer) clasping a short cutlass or long dirk. His hat is a round hat with the brim turned up on each side, and a few horizontal lines that I can't quite place. The hair protruding beneath is fairly short, and blowing in the breeze. His jacket is a lighter blue, ending below the waist and lined in white. The jacket buttons are brass on both the lapel and the cuffs. His neckcloth is black and tucked into his waistcoat like a cravat. The waistcoat itself is yellow with red horizontal stripes and cloth covered buttons, ending at the waist. His trousers end well above the ankle, and the fly is broad fall with cloth covered buttons.

Behind him, and looking quite perturbed, is yet another Jack. This one wears a Dutch/Monmouth knit cap, green neckcloth, and a purple unlined jacket.

Between them is a final figure, but we only see his head and black or dark blue knit cap.

It's quite a chaotic piece of propaganda, and remarkably colorful.

I should note that I've been avoiding examining officers clothing, so I'm not spending much time on Jones' outfit. Evan Thomas states that Jones despised the Continental Navy uniform and usually wore something closer to the British naval uniform in battle: blue uniform boat, white breeches, and white waistcoat. Almost certainly he didn't wear anything like that shown in this print during the famous battle.

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[1] John Paul Jones: Sailor, Hero, Father of the American Navy, by Evan Thomas, Simon and Schuster: 2003, pg 191

The Sailor's Present, or the Jealous Clown, 1778

The Sailor's Present, or the Jealous Clown, by Carington Bowles from John Collet, 1778, British Museum.

"Clown" had a different connotation in the eighteenth century. In Samuel Johnson's famous "Dictionary of the English Language," he defines a clown as "a rustick, a churl" or "a coarse ill-bred man." In this scene, the clown is the fellow in the back with the tattered coat, scratching his head and gesturing to the cows. His jealousy is direct at the sailor, who boldly reaches for the breast of a handsome young woman with a blue bow. There's a lot to be said about this image, but we're going to focus on the sailor.

He wears a black round hat, with the edge of his short brim upturned. A blue bow is fitted to the left side, not unlike some we've seen in previous images of sailors in shore-going clothes, though notably this is common of Carington Bowles' work.

His jacket is red, an unusually bright color for sailors. It is single breasted with white metal buttons, matching those on his slash cuffs which are buttoned. There is a single button peeking from the back of his jacket, which suggests a vent. There is no evidence of pockets or collar.

His neckcloth is brown spotted in yellow and white, and tucked into his waistcoat, concealing any sign of his shirt. The single breasted waistcoat is fitted with cloth covered buttons. Blue horizontal stripes cut across the off white fabric.

His trousers are dark, nearly brown. They end above the ankle, showing us blue or gray stockings with (if you look carefully) vertical stripes of a darker color! Striped stockings, so common in modern portrayals of eighteenth century sailors, were not the most common in period images of them. This is the first image I've found to show striped stockings, and the decoration is decidedly subtle.

The shoes are pointed toe with rectangular buckles. Beside him rests his trusty walking stick.

A Man of War Towing a Frigate into Harbour, 1781

A Man of War Towing a Frigate into Harbor Carington Bowles, 1781, British Museum.

Bowles's satirical print is one of series that matched naval terminology with courtship. Other pieces use this device more humorously, but this example gives us a pretty generic view of a sailor of the period.

The Jack wears a pretty standard black round hat with short brim and a preposterously large blue bow. It is rare to see round hats decorated with much at all, much less something this size, but being as these are shore-going clothes (which tended to be more fanciful), it is at least plausible that a sailor might have added this decoration. His hair is longer than most sailors, draping over his back, but it is still rather loose.

The neckcloth is black silk, tucked under the white collar of his shirt. His waistcoat is a bright yellow, and double breasted with cloth covered buttons, ending at the waist.

Our seaman's short jacket is single breasted with large white metal buttons at the lapel, and matching short buttons at his slash cuffs. Like many of the other images of sailors at the time, he only bothers to fasten one or two of his cuff buttons. The trousers are broad fall with a large white buttons at the waist, but it appears that the fall itself is held by cloth covered buttons matching the stripe of his trousers. This could also be an oversight on the part of the colorist.

His stockings are white, leading to pointed toe shoes with large rectangular buckles of a yellow metal (probably brass). In his left hand is the familiar stick, seen in many images of sailors, including ones I've shown before.

The Sailor's Pleasure, Late 18th Century

The Sailor's Pleasure, Carrington Bowles, pre-1780, National Maritime Museum.

The Sailor's Pleasure, Robert Sayer, 1770's, Colonial Williamsburg Online Collections.

The Sailor's Pleasure, Bowles and Carver, c1793-1800, British Museum.

Carrington Bowles' print The Sailor's Pleasure was a wonderfully successful piece.  After Bowles' death, his son carried on the family business as Bowles and Carver, and continued to produce The Sailor's Pleasure late in the century with some slight alterations.

As was common in the eighteenth century print market, Bowles' success inspired knock offs. Robert Sayers produced a less detailed copy to ride the coattails of his competitor. This print appears again in Sayers' Jack got safe into Port with his Prize, published in 1780.

Our happy tar down a glass from the punch bowl, and leaves his tobacco pouch open to be added to the pipe. Coins spill from his hat. This is one of a few pieces depicting sailors carrying prize money in their hats.

In every version of this print he wears a bob wig. The neckcloth is short and striped, tied neatly about his neck. The waistcoat is embroidered and single breasted, with round buttons. In the later Bowles and Carver piece, the waistcoat is blue and without buttons. Our mariner's jacket is made with finished edges and a short collar. Bowles and Carver give him a red jacket without tape, blue collars, and white metal buttons. The buttons on the earlier prints may be metal.

The hat is also exceptionally fancy. It is edged in tape, which is gold in the Bowles and Carver print. Sayer portrays his sailor's cocked hat as untrimmed. The cockade is large and appears to be silk with a large metal button.