A British Sailor Offering a Sword to an Unarmed Spanish Officer, 1783

A British Sailor offering a Sword to an Unarmed Spanish Officer, engraved by John Thronton, 1783, Library of Congress.

Another copy of this print can be found at the National Maritime Museum.

In the upper left, sailors bearing cutlasses mount the parapets. All of them wear short caps, probably Dutch/Monmouth knit caps, though it's difficult to be sure. Rushing up the ladder is a jack in a jacket that ends beneath the waist, it appears to have two vents and is lined in white. His trousers end above the ankle.

Standing atop a Spanish gun and proudly waving a British flag, a sailor wears a patterned bandanna around his head, a black neckcloth at his collar, a single breasted waistcoat with cloth buttons ending at the waist, and an unlined jacket. His trousers are vertically striped. 

The gallant sailor at the front, offering a sword to his enemy, wears a round hat with a very short brim. His neckcloth is striped. Our hero wears a double breasted, lined jacket with slash cuffs. The waistcoat is double breasted, ending at his white petticoat trousers with their broad fall fly. We get a peek at his breeches beneath, and see that they are fastened with laces! It's not often we see sailor's breeches, much less a good view of how they are closed. White stockings lead down to the pointed toe shoes with oval buckles.

A View of the Old England just arrived form a Cruise round the Globe, c.1762

A View of the Old England just arrived form a Cruise round the Globe, artist unknown, c.1762, British Museum.

The Seven Years War was a global conflict. Fought from the Philippines to Pennsylvania to India to Germany, it took Britain literally 'round the Globe.' In 1762, the war was drawing to a close with negotiations between Britain and France.

These negotiations, coming at a time when Britain was racking up profound and very public victories, drew a wave of criticism. The unknown artist of this cartoon portrays "the Old England" as a trim fighting ship, carrying duplicitous ministers who mislead their king. Most of the figures are gentlemen in suits and wigs, but a few are common tarpawlins.

At the bow, one sailor steps down the bowsprit over a figurehead of a lion with a crown. As a side note, this is the dominant figurehead style of the time for Royal Navy frigates. The sailor stepping down wears a jacket tucked into his breeches and a jockey style barge cap. His mate gestures towards him, who wears a smock or jacket with slit cuffs, a neckcloth, and cap.

Aloft in the tops on the mizzen is a third sailor. Bald headed and wearing a single breasted jacket tucked into his breeches, he holds a hat or cap in his left hand.

The Greenland Whale Fishery, 1774

The Greenland Whale Fishery, Thomas Boreman, 1774, John Carter Brown Library Early American Images Archive.

This engraving was included in the book A Description of Three Hundred Animals, published in London in 1774. Despite the title and apparent purpose of the book, this engraving focuses instead on the destroyers of nature. Whalers are shown in a great many boats, hunting a large non-descript whale and a fanciful sea lion, clearly illustrated by someone who had never seen one.

Three whalers attempt to take down the sea lion with harpoons and a club. From left to right, they wear a cap, round hat, and what might be (to use a nineteenth century term for a hat treated for foul weather) a sou'wester. All wear jackets with cuffs, and the tar on the far right wears breeches.

The sailors in the boats are uniformly dressed in the same jackets that their mates ashore wear, and round hats of various sizes. Those we can see are also wearing breeches, without a pair of trousers or petticoat trousers to be seen.

The only exception is the boat on the far right, in which the men wear cocked hats of various cuts. The fellow in the bow appears to be wearing his reversed, though that is up for debate.

The Whale Fishery and Killing the Bears, 1744

The Whale Fishery and Killing the Bears, engraving from "Navigantium atque itinirantium bibliotheca," Volume 2, T. Woodward, 1744, John Carter Brown Library.

Whalers are only rarely featured on this blog. I would like to change that. Today's print depicts a number of ships all harpooning whales and killing bears in the Arctic.

The sailors all wear jackets which end about the top of the thigh. Their hats are a mixture of round and cocked, with a couple of caps thrown in for good measure.

These tars attack a bear with harpoons and a comically oversized club. These men wear very small cocked hats, jacket that match the fellows afloat, and a mix of breeches and trousers.

The Famous Ship Victory, 1744

The Famous Ship Victory, artist unknown, 1744, British Museum.

Though now lost in the shadow of the more famous ship to bear her name, the Victory was an impressive vessel in her day. Launched on this day 280 years ago, she was a massive first rate 100 gun ship. Victory was armed entirely with bronze guns, and had a remarkably short career, serving as flagship of the Channel Fleet through the beginning years of the War of Austrian Succession, War of Jenkins Ear, &c.

According to Dr. Frank Howard, in his 1979 Sailing Ships of War: 1400-1860, she was "a high-sided ship for her draught and this was believed to have made her leewardly." Howard suggests this may have led to her loss. On October 4, 1744, the Victory disappeared in a storm along with well over a thousand men, not to be found until 2009. In the wake of this loss, an unknown artist rushed this woodcut to print, capitalizing on the mourning expressed throughout the nation.

Aloft and alow the artist populated this piece with some of the sailors and marines dragged to the bottom of the channel. These two on the main topsail and main topgallant wear breeches and a short jacket with round hats with turned up brims on the side.

From the poop to the quarter to the gun deck, sailors haul away. They wear jackets and smocks with round hats of various types.

Further after on the poop are a passel of officers in cocked hats and coats. Standing to the right is a singular figure with a professional posture, presumably Admiral Sir John Balchen, one of the many casualties of the wreck.

In the ratlines are a pair of sailors who appear to be wearing petticoat trousers and jockey style barge caps.

Along her larboard quarter rows an impressive barge flying an old, seventeenth century style red or blue ensign. The bargemen and coxswain wear identical round hats and jackets or shirtsleeves.

View of Mount Edgecumbe, 1755

"View of Mount Edgcumbe," engraved by Pierre Charles Canot after Samuel Scott, 1755, British Museum.

"View of Mount Edgcumbe," engraved by Pierre Charles Canot after Samuel Scott, 1755, Government Art Collection.

This is another in the print series Five views of and from Mount Edgcumbe, Plymouth, in which engraver Pierre Charles Canot gives his impressions of the works of Samuel Scott. You can see the previous print that I examined here.

Our only view of common tars comes from the two boats that pull for the right of the frame.

In the foreground is a boat with a gesticulating coxswain and a fluttering red ensign, showing that these oarsmen are pulling against a strong headwind. In the background, a man stands in the bow of his vessel with a boathook extended. Presumably, both vessels are stretching out toward a larger vessel or a shore on which to land.

In both boats, the men wear jackets with open slash cuffs that drop to about mid-thigh. At least one off the oarsmen wears his jacket without a waistcoat, though the cox in the foreground boat certainly wears a single breasted waistcoat. Several of the men are without hats, but most wear cocked hats. The cox wears his cocked hat reversed, but the rest of them wear their hats with the point forward.

The Treat at Stepney, 1740-1760

"The Treat at Stepney," artist unknown, 1740-1760, British Museum.

In her book London, 1753, Sheila O'Connell relates that Stepney was a rural suburb of London, and boasted "a downmarket version of the pleasure gardens at Vauxhall and Ranelagh." The elites have their galleries and meticulously cultivated gardens, while the common man has Stepney. Stepney is still part of London today, and is only a short distance from the traditionally maritime neighborhood of Wapping.

Along with the engraving of sailors at play on shore, there is a helpful verse that names many of the principal characters, and catalogs their vices:

At Stepney now, with Cakes & Ale, Our Tars their Mistresses regale, What Humour sits on ev'ry Brow, John grows Polite, he knows not how; And marks with meaning grin, below How Frank, who, extended on the Beach, Surveys the Port he hopes to reach; There Kit Admires, with keener taste, The Trollop, whom he weds in haste And jovial James, with lifted Glass, Drinks to and Toasts, his fav'rite Lass, Mean while the Sounde their fidler Scrapes, With fist and Elbow, Richard apes: And equal mirth's, in distant views, Attracks the eyes of Various Crews.

At the left and in the background at those "Various Crews." We only get a good look at one of them, who wears a cocked hat reversed. His jacket sports open slash cuffs, and there is a neckcloth bound around his neck. In his right hand he supports a pipe. The other tars appear to be similarly dressed, one of whom drinks from a punch bowl. Beyond that, there isn't much to say.

We can say more about the fiddler. He wears breeches with a fly front, round toed shoes with rectangular buckles, no waistcoat, and a full length coat with slash cuffs. It is possible the fiddler is no sailor, and merely the entertainment provided by this house of mirth.

Beneath the table is Frank "who, extended on the Beach, Surveys the Port he hopes to reach." This is innuendo that underlines the obvious fact that Frank is looking up the petticoats of a woman at the table. Frank wears a jacket that ends below the waist, breeches with ribbon fasteners below the knee, no waistcoat, white stockings, and pointed toe shoes. At his feet is a discarded cocked hat and bob wig. I am not sure if the hat and wig belong to Frank or the fiddler.

Kit is oblivious to Frank's "observation" beneath the table, and sidles up to his "Trollop, whom he weds in haste." As O'Connell states, informal and secret weddings were common enough in the mid-eighteenth century to draw Parliamentary intervention with the Marriage Age of 1753.

Kit's curly hair runs down to his shoulders, resting on the striped or creased neckcloth that is draped over his jacket. His cuffs, like those of everyone else in this piece, are slashed.

John, the centerpiece of this print, looks as though he has imbibed a bit too much. His cocked hat is a bit ragged and rather small. A dotted neckcloth hangs down over a waistcoat decorated with narrow horizontal stripes. His jacket is long, almost coat length, and featurs unbuttoned slash cuffs with cloth covered buttons. John's breeches are likewise striped, though vertically. At his feet is a broken pipe and a sailor's stick.

At the far end of the table are the two remaining members of their mess. Raising a glass is James, who toasts the woman beside him. He wears a plain neckcloth, single breasted jacket with slit cuffs, and plain breeches.

Near as I can figure, the last character is Richard, who "With fist and Elbow...apes." I think Richard is trying to mimic the movements of the fiddler across the table. Richard wears a plain neckcloth, long jacket or coat, no waistcoat, breeches fastened by ribbon, and pointed toe shoes with rectangular buckles.

The Wapping Landlady, 1743 & 1767

The Humours of a Wapping Landlady, publisher unknown, 1743, British Museum.

The Wapping Landlady, engraved from the Original Painting in Vaux Hall Gardens, published by Carrington Bowles, 1743, British Museum.

The Wapping Landlady, engraved by L. Truchy, 1767, New York Public Library.

All of these prints are derived from the same inspiration: Francis Hayman's painting. The Victoria and Albert Museum possesses a detail of the original, but it does not include the dancing sailor, bar, or other participants at this jolly gathering. The original painting hung in Vauxhall Gardens, and is described in the 1782 tourists' guide The Ambulator as "The Wapping landlady, and the tars who are just come ashore."

Wapping is a well known maritime community in east London along the River Thames in which sailors came and went throughout the eighteenth century. Some ne'er-do-well mariners met their end at Wapping's famous Execution Dock.

Having "just come ashore," a mess of sailors enjoy themselves in the landlady's common room. According to the caption text on "The Humours of a Wapping Landlady" the fellow reclining across a bench beside a well dressed woman is Jack Bowline, who courts the landlady's daughter. At center is the dancing Tom Gunter, who has asked the fiddler to "strike up a hornpipe." Standing in a well chosen spot between the fiddler and the bar is the cabin boy Oakum. It is at the bar behind him we find the old landlady, who plies the tarpawlins with liquor so that she can take their hard earned pay.

Tom Gunter wears a simple black cocked hat reversed. His hair is short, hanging well above the shoulders. Tom's unlined single breasted jacket stretches to the top of his thighs. Though we get no good view of his buttons, the jacket is without pockets or collar. It does not appear that the cuffs have any buttons.

Tom's waistcoat has vertical narrow stripes and a single row of buttons. The cutaway of Tom's waistcoat is open just enough to let us see the two button fly at his waistband. His trousers end above the ankle, revealing light colored stockings. His shoes have a rounded toe. Tom has tucked his hooked walking stick under his left arm.

The Bowles version is somewhat more detailed. Tom's hat is looking rather worse for wear, and his neckstock is a bit more easily seen, tucked into his waistcoat though it may be. Otherwise, the details of his slop clothes are essentially the same: single breasted jacket without cuffs, trousers with a two button fly at the waistband, and a hooked walking stick (albeit under the right arm this time).

The New York Public Library's copy of The Wapping Landlady looks to have been lifted directly from the Bowles' print. The only major differences are Tom's hat (which has somewhat smoother lines) and walking stick (along which the knobs are more bulbous.

 © Victoria and Albert Museum, London

In the original painting, the sailor is depicted with red breeches, white stockings, and black round toed shoes with decorative yellow metal buckles. He wears a single breasted white waistcoat with cloth covered buttons, but no neck cloth. His brown jacket is likewise single breasted with cloth covered buttons, and a mariner's cuff with all but one button fastened. His hair is just about should length beneath a cocked hat with remarkably short brim.

On the table beside him rests a large tankard, punch bowl, and pipe.

Interestingly, the prints that followed Hayman's original shows the clothing of the landlady's daughter continually updated by the engraver to keep pace with modern fashion.

British Museum, Version One

British Museum, Bowles Version

NYPL

With the exception of Jack Bowline's hat, his outfit remains relatively unchanged over two and a half decades. A black cocked hat with the point forward, a single breasted jacket ending about the top of the thigh with open mariner's cuffs, breeches bound below the knee by a buckle. The original painting puts Jack Bowline in red breeches, white stockings, a black cocked hat with remarkably short brim, white waistcoat without neckcloth of any sort, and a brown jacket.

British Museum, unknown publisher

British Museum, Carrington Bowles

New York Public Library

Oakum the cabin boy is the most consistently depicted figure in each of the prints. He wears a work cap with horizontal stripes, a loose fitting single breasted striped jacket, and long trousers. Oakum's hair is even shorter than this mates, clinging close to his head.

A Fleet Wedding, 1747

A Fleet wedding between a brisk young sailor & his landlady's daughter at Rederiff, engraved by John June, 1747, British Museum.

June's engraving is a companion piece to "The Sailor's Fleet Wedding Entertainment," published the same year. This print depicts the arrival of the bride and groom and the guests that greet them.

The sailor and his bride stride happily toward a pair of reverends, arm in arm. They are the same couple in the companion piece, and just as happy in their embrace.

The sailor-groom wears the same fine shore going rig in both prints. An untrimmed cocked hat with a large bow (though on the left side in the first print, and right on the second), long white neckcloth or cravat hanging down over a single breasted plain waistcoat, and a single breasted blue jacket with mariner's cuffs fastened by cloth covered buttons. Notably, his cuffs are frilled, something you would expect at a wedding and probably never see while working aboard.

As our sailor is standing in the open and not behind a table, we get a good look at the hem of his waistcoat, which is cut much as any of the century, with a cutaway and pocket flaps that line up right at the waist (about a modern belt line). His breeches appear to have a broad fall fly, but the shoes have too little detail to draw any solid conclusions.

To the right, a sailor hoists his rather rotund woman from the carriage. Though many in the nearby crowd do not share the sentiment, this sailor and his lady are jovial.

He wears a cocked hat with a large white cockade on the right over bob styled hair. His jacket has waist pockets with three vents along the back. At the end of his jacket are mariner's cuffs fastened with six buttons and frilled cuffs. Our tar's slops end below the knee, showing off white stockings, and pointed toe shoes. 

Drawing, date unknown

Drawing, Robert Pollard, date unknown, British Museum.

The apparent companion piece to yesterday's subject, this Pollard sketch gives us a much better picture of the common sailor. Three tars stand beside a sizable gun, watching their mates pummel each other to the apparent disinterest of the officers in yesterday's sketch.

Though difficult to see in the above image, the fellow to the far right is the boxer. Interestingly, he wears a cocked hat with a large cockade on his right! His hair runs into a queue, rather unusual for a sailor. Still, he wears a short jacket and no waistcoat, both of which are more common among tars. Otherwise he wears plain breeches and stockings running to a shoe with a pointed toe.

Just to the right is a tall, hatless man with curly hair. He wears a jacket with drop down collar and what appear to be turned back cuffs. Like the others, he wears no waistcoat. His petticoat trousers are drawn up just a bit so we can see the knee of his breeches before the plain stockings.

Leaning over the gun is another of their mates. This one wears a knit Monmouth cap. His jacket is like that of the last fellow, with drop down collar, but no cuffs. Though it is unclear, I think he wears a single breasted waistcoat and cravat. We get a pretty decent view of the pocket to his petticoat trousers.

In the background is the last of their mates. Perhaps he wears a round hat with a tall, cylindrical crown, the type more commonly seen after 1780. Alternatively, and given the rough edges of the brim, it could be interpreted as a tall Dutch cap. Unfortunately, there isn't enough detail in the figure to be more exact.

Men Loading a Boat with Barrels, date unknown

Men Loading a Boat with Barrels, Samuel Scott, date unknown, Yale Center for British Art via Google Art Project.

Beside a goodly number of barrels, a pair of tarpawlins haul a rectangular package aboard. Both wear short  jackets that end about the top of the thigh with long slit cuffs. Though one has his back to us, the single vent on his jacket is wide open, and suggests that he wears no waistcoat, just like the sailor helping him. Both of them wear breeches with white stockings, but their headwear is quite different. One wears a colorful knit cap, and the other a cocked hat.

At the oar is a hatless man with a jacket not unlike that of his mates. It appears to be tucked into petticoat trousers, but I couldn't swear on it.

A single unfinished sailor is in the bow of the small boat. He wears his sleeves rolled up past the elbows, and bends over the cask. It appears our jack is wearing a pair of trousers, and a small workcap or knit cap.

There is considerably more detail on the fellow stepping out of the small boat. He wears a blue waistcoat with a single vent at the back, red breeches, and white stockings. Atop his head is a cocked hat with the point forward.

The cox takes a break to smoke his pipe and lose himself in contemplation. He wears a red or brown waistcoat, light colored breeches, stockings, and a cocked hat with the point forward.