Gallant Behaviour of an English Sailor, c.1785

Gallant behaviour of an English Sailor in offering a sword to an unarmed Spaniard to defend himself, at the taking of Fort Omoa, in the Bay of Honduras, October 20th 1779, engraved by John Record after Metz, c.1785, Library of Congress.

Here is another edition of the British tar at Omoa. This print was engraved for Raymond's History of England, a work that (according to the Brighton Royal Pavilion and Museums) was first published in 1754, but continued into 1787. The Library of Congress dates this c. 1785, as the particular edition that this was published in included events through the Spring of 1784. Other copies exist in the collection of the National Maritime Museum and British Museum.

Though intended as a historical piece, rather than as a caricature or political cartoon, this engraving portrays the Spaniard in archaic clothing more reminiscent of the seventeenth century than the late eighteenth. Portrayals of Spaniards as backward or out of sync with the times were incredibly common among English cartoonists. It is interesting to note that a straight historical narrative of the time also depicted the stereotypical Spaniard in his anachronistic garb.

The sailor wears no hat, and wears his hair short and loose. Without a neckcloth, his white shirt hangs open. The blue jacket is single breasted without pockets or collar, ending right below the natural waist. His plain trousers end just above the ankle, revealing rounded toe shoes.

Three of his mates mount a ladder over the fortress walls. They too are hatless and wear blue jackets. It appears that the engraver or the colorist has given the second tar climbing the ladder a handkerchief around the neck, or perhaps a collar of different color than the body of the jacket.

Detail from "A Book of Drafts and Remarks," 1763

Detail from "A Book of Drafts and Remarks," Archibald Hamilton, 1763, National Maritime Museum. Found in Background to Discovery by Derek Howse, University of California Press, 1990, page 163.

Special thanks to Tom Apple for pointing out this fascinating image.

It will come as no surprise to regular readers here that I have a fascination with navigation in the eighteenth century. This sketch by Archibald Hamilton, a master's mate, depicts a fellow of the same rank (or perhaps the man himself) at work with an octant. At his feet are the tools of his trade: a lead line, compass, chip log, and traverse board. As Mr. Apple wrote not long ago, the latter three are essential to dead reckoning.

What is even more interesting about Hamilton's sketch is the figure it portrays. Master's mates were assistants to the master, who was responsible for the navigation of naval vessels in the eighteenth century. You can learn more about masters by reading Lena Mosser's excellent post on their role and rank in naval society. Hamilton and his fellow mates would rank as petty officers on the ship, exempt from standing watch, but shouldering more responsibility. They would have had to possess some skill in the art and science of navigation.

Hamilton's illustration accompanies a journal charting the voyage of the Surprize from England to the Portuguese island of Madeira.

Our mate wears a cocked hat with narrow brim bound in light colored tape. His hair is short, but not of a bob wig style. A black neckcloth hangs down over his chest, and he wears a fanciful jacket with a dark collar and cuffs. His mariner's cuffs, lapel, and vents all feature the same white metal or cloth covered buttons. Our master's mate's waistcoat is unfortunately not well detailed, but his trousers are striped with pockets cut well down the thigh. His trouser legs end above the ankle, revealing white stockings and round toed shoes with oval buckles.

Sea Captains Carousing in Surinam, c.1752-1758

"Sea Captains Carousing in Surinam," John Greenwood, c. 1752-1758, Saint Louis Art Museum.

Located on the Northern coast of South America between Guyana and French Guyana, Suriname is now an independent nation. At the time this painting was done, Suriname (spelled Surinam during the colonial period) was a slave economy that exported a number of goods, the most important of which was coffee.

Prominent Rhode Island sea captains who had arrived in the Dutch colony in the 1750's met the Bostonian portraitist John Greenwood there, and commissioned him to paint the above scene. Gathered around the table are two future governors of Rhode Island, and the future commodore of the Continental Navy Esek Hopkins. In the doorway, holding up a light for a man who couldn't quite hold his liquor, is John Greenwood himself. These identifications are attributed by the National Humanities Center, and you can read a very brief treatment of the painting here.

I have a copy of this painting hanging on my wall. The jovial nature of the white men, juxtaposed against the suffering and naked slaves on the far left, is striking. It is fascinating the see the relatively rich and powerful so vulnerable: puking catching on fire, being spilled on; broken bottles, pipes, and chairs scattered about. Add in to that the tiny details of material culture and the maritime aspect of the piece, and Greenwood has won me over with a painting I could stare at all day.

It is somewhat surprising then, that I hadn't really paid a mind to the dancing sailor on the far right.

It may be that this is no common sailor. Despite my efforts, I could not find an identification for anybody in this detail, save for John Greenwood in the back. After all, sea captains of the 1750's could and did dress in clothing that was at least inspired by the common tar.

Whoever this mariner is, he has been painted into a tradition of mid-eighteenth century dancing sailors.

The dancing figure, unlike his counterparts, is not wearing a full frock coat, but a triple vented brown jacket with what appear to be narrow horizontal stripes of a darker hue. He wears an untrimmed cocked hat with the point forward over a white bob wig. His neckcloth is red and dotted with white. Blue breeches run down to white stockings beneath round toed shoes with rectangular white metal buckles. As with the better dressed man dancing across from him, our sailor carries a long thin walking stick.

Another sign of the maritime nature of this piece is in the man falling asleep in the detail above. His cocked hat, fitted with a single button, is worn reversed.

Jack England Fighting the Four Confederates, 1781

Jack England Fighting the Four Confederates, John Smith, 1781, Lewis Walpole Library.

Jack England Fighting the Four Confederates, John Smith, 1781, British Museum.

Our title character and personification of the empire stands bow legged, with his arms crossed as he confronts the caricatures of "Don Diego" (Spain), "Monsieur Louis Baboon" (France), "Yanky Doodle" (America), and 'Mynheer Frog" (the Dutch). Monsieur Baboon turns to puke, Yanky Doodle falls, and Don Diego reels with blood dripping down his face. Mynheer Frog stands alone, but not confident, exclaiming "I have almost forgot how to fight."

Jack England is ready to fight, but laments, "Sink me but I cou'd best them all if our Land Lubbers wou'd but Pull together." This may be Smith's commentary on the frustrations the army was facing in North America, or on the failure of politicians to effectively lead the fight.

Jack England wears a black round hat with a short brim, beneath which flows hair cut just above the shoulders. He wears a black neckcloth, tied into a knot at the front. In the Walpole copy his double breasted waistcoat is purple, and it is red in the British Museum's piece. In both it ends below the waist, and is fitted with cloth covered buttons. Jack's single breasted blue jacket (a sky blue in the British Museum copy) has no pockets, and his mariner's cuffs are buttoned shut. In a testament to the changes a colorist can make, the Walpole version is painted blue on the inside, and the British Museum version is white, meaning that the British Museum's version is a lined jacket. Beneath the jacket and waistcoat is a pair of petticoat trousers/slops with a broad fall fly. His stockings are white, shoes have rounded toes, and he wears rectangular buckles.

Plate from "Thomas and Sally," 1770

Plate from 'Thomas and Sally or, the Sailor's Return. A musical entertainment in two acts and in verse,' author Isaac Bickerstaffe, artist unknown, 1770, Internet Archive.

Drawn from the script for the comic opera "Thomas and Sally," this is an unusual entry into the "sailor's return" trope. Most works in this vein have a happy reunion, and often involve the sailor displaying the wealth he has made on the sea. Instead, Thomas has returned from a long sea voyage to rescue Sally from the seductions of the evil squire. 

"Thomas and Sally" was a popular short opera, one that is commemorated in other works as well. You can hear the play in what I believe is its entirety here.

Jack threatens with the stick in his right hand, reaching back with his left. Atop his head is a reversed cocked hat over what appears to be a bob wig, and at his neck is a light neckcloth tucked into his single breasted waistcoat with its waist pockets. One of the interesting details of this piece is that the ends of the neckcloth poke out through an open buttonhole at his chest. His jacket is somewhat long, ending about mid-thigh. His trousers end well above the ankle, revealing his white stockings. Rounded toe shoes with oval buckles round out his slop clothes.

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.

The Tar's Triumph, or Bawdy House Battery, 1749

"The Tar's Triumph, or Bawdy House Battery," Charles Mosley, 1749, National Maritime Museum.

A notorious incident occurred in the 1740's when a group of rioting sailors ransacked brothels on the Strand in central London. This print is just one of several to illustrate the subject, which have been featured on this blog. The British Museum also happens to have a copy of this print, and they wrote an interesting short bit about it, primarily addressing the prostitutes in the foreground.

At the center of the piece is a sailor grasping a tablecloth or bedsheet, locked into a tug of war with a prostitute. He wears a cocked hat with the point forward, and a neckcloth tied close and in the fashion of a cravat. His jacket is short for the period, and single breasted. His trousers end about mid-calf. Otherwise he wears rounded toe shoes with rectangular buckles. 

From the window his mate empties a drawer, spilling a wide variety of items (including a cat and a chamber pot). The sailor wears a reversed cocked hat and an open jacket with no waistcoat. 

The Mob attempting to pull down Peter Wood's house, 1749

"The Mob attempting to pull down Peter Woods house," Unknown Artist, 1749, British Museum.

This print was brought to my attention as the cover of Nicholas Rogers' recent book Mayhem: Post-War Crime and Violence in Britain, 1748-53.

This print depicts a rioting mob of sailors making hell on Peter Wood's house and tavern during the Strand Riot of 1749. It was typical for owners of taverns, inns, coffeehouses, and alehouses to live in their place of business, just as it was for other craftsmen and tradesmen throughout the British empire. Unlike many of those fellow professionals, Peter Wood's tavern (at the sign of the star) was a well known brothel.

Wood's tavern was targeted on the third night of the riots, and it was here that Bosavern Penlez was caught participating. Penlez would be hanged four months later as a looter, the only man to face justice for the upheaval. Clearly sailors were not the only ones to participate in the riots, and at least one print depicts a crowd made up of gentlemen and tradesmen, entirely devoid of mariners.

As an interesting side note, Wood's tradesign is depicted differently between this unknown artist and Charles Mosley's depiction of the same year. The Strand riot was notorious enough for each artist to know Wood's sign, but they chose to depict it in very different ways.

On to the sailors!

Our uproarious tarpawlins are uniformly dressed. This may have been simply for the ease of the artist, or it may suggest that they are from the same crew. Regardless, they all wear round hats with short brims, single breasted jackets that end at the thigh with waist flap pockets, long legged and fairly close fitting trousers, and plain neckcloths. None of them wears a waistcoat, but they all wield cudgels. The second tar from the right is turned just far enough away from us to get a good view of the single vent at the back of his jacket. All of them wear white stockings and round toed shoes with oval buckles. Though of various hues, all of our sailors have hair that ends just above the shoulders in a roughly bob style.

The only real variation between these jacks is in their cuffs. Working our way left to right, we see plain cuffs without adornment, slit cuffs, scalloped mariners' cuffs bound by two buttons, and straight marines' cuffs bound by four buttons.

Opposition Defeated, 1780

Opposition Defeated, artist unknown, 1780, British Museum.

This is a dense political cartoon in which Lord North rides a bull, blowing with such ferocity that he swings a sign with a crown out of reach of the Prince of Wales, who stands atop Charles Fox's shoulders.

There's a lot going on here, including a dog, the King, and Satan. Let's focus on the sailor.

He sits atop the trade sign in the upper right of the cartoon, clutching to it and shouting "D------n my eyes Huza Boreas and John Bull have don for them!" I presume, though do not know, that he is referring to Boreas: the mythical Greek god of the north wind.

North. Wind. Get it?

Our sailor waves a round hat over his head, and wears a jacket that ends at the waist. His trousers have narrow vertical stripes widely spaced. His shoes are round toed.

It is worth noting that this pose and character are not new to political cartoons. Both the 1740 European Race for a Distance and the 1741 What's All This! The Motley Team of State have a sailor straddling a pole in a political cartoon.

Proclamation of Peace, 1783

Proclamation of Peace, William Wells, 1783, British Museum.

Mocking the alliance of America, France, Spain, and the Dutch during the American War of Independence, this political cartoon nevertheless welcomes the end of the war. An angel flies over the party, heralding the peace. At the head of the small group is an America, holding aloft a tomahawk and gleefully exclaiming their lack of loyalty to both Britain and the alliance. France is nonplussed (though happy for the steady supply of tobacco), while both Spain and Holland are intimidated by Britain, in the person of Jack Tar.

Our Jack wears no hat, and sports short curly hair. His neckcloth is striped and tucked into the single breasted waistcoat. His dark jacket is without collar or cuffs, and ends about the top of the thigh. Wide legged petticoat trousers run down to his calves, allowing us to see his white stockings and round toed shoes with rectangular buckles. In his right hand, Between he and Holland is a short sword with an eagle headed pommel.

The Murder of Kenith Hossack by Captain Lowry, date unknown

The Murder of Kenith Hossack by Captain Lowry, Samuel Wale, date unknown, Yale Center for British Art.

Captain Lowry is the notoriously brutal captain who was hanged for the beating death of a sailor aboard the Molly merchantman. I've featured an image of his crime before, and later found out the print was part of the popular Newgate Calendar. The Yale Center for British Art appears to be in possession of the original drawing from which the print was taken. Samuel Wale drew a number of works, some of which closely match the crimes featured in the Calendar, including this. Given the date of the crime (1750) and the date of Wale's death (1786) we can certainly place the date of the drawing within our period of study, if not more exactly.

Hossack's wrists are bound to the shrouds while Lowry lays into him. Hossack wears a work cap, His jacket bears two vents at the back, and if made with scalloped mariner's cuffs. Given that the right lapel of his jacket bears only buttonholes and not buttons, we can reasonably conclude that it is single breasted.

The fellow beside the unfortunate Hossack is presumably James Gadderar, the chief mate of the Molly and star witness in Lowry's trial. Gadderar wears a round hat with a remarkably short crown and brim. His black neckcloth is tied neatly about his neck, and hangs down over his shirt, as he clearly lacks a waistcoat. Just like Hossack, Gadderar wears a single breasted jacket without collar and scalloped mariner's cuffs.

Both sailors wear slops/petticoat trousers with dark stockings and round toed shoes.

Merit and demerit made conspicuous, or, The pillers of the publick prov'd, 1756

"Merit and demerit made conspicuous, or, The pillers of the publick prov'd," T. Kitchin, 1756, Walpole Library.

Even for eighteenth century political cartoons, this one is dense and crowded. It appears to show the depleted stores and finances of England, and expresses the frustration of the artist with the ministry. Jack Tar stands on the far left, gripping the ropes that have been slipped around the necks of numerous gentleman, who Jack berates for their ineptitude.

He wears a reversed cocked hat that is notably pinned in place. This is interesting not only because it is the first time I've seen such a method for keeping the flap up, but also because the hat has a button on it. What purpose does the pin serve, then?

Jack also wears a single breasted short jacket with large buttons that ends at about the top of the thigh, with open mariners' cuffs that do not appear to have any button closure. His trousers end above the ankle, and he wears round toed shoes with rectangular buckles.

A North View of Fort Royal in the Island of Guadaloupe, 1764

A North View of Fort Royal in the Island of Guadaloupe, when in Possession of his Majestys Forces in 1759, Lieutenant Archibald Campbell, 1764, John Carter Brown Library.

This print is taken from a hand drawn sketch by Lieutenant Archibald Campbell of the Royal Engineers in 1759. A later edition of this print is in the collection of the National Army Museum. According to their collection entry, Guadaloupe was a haven for the privateers that had long harassed the British in the Caribbean, and so became a prime target for the British efforts to defeat the French in the Seven Years War. Like many campaigns in the Caribbean, disease killed many, reducing British forces by hundreds of men. The sacrifice of the regulars ensured the reduction in privateer attacks that followed. Perhaps this is why Campbell decided to include a lobsterback and a tarpawlin shaking hands beside the road to Fort Royal.

Jack Tar wears a short jacket that ends at about the top of his thigh. Beneath he wears his shirt and no waistcoat. Around his neck is a neckcloth of indeterminate pattern or color. We can say a bit more about his hat, which has a tall crown and rolled up brim. I'm inclined to say it is a knit cap or Dutch cap, rather than a round hat. His slops end just below the knee, revealing white stockings, and rounded square toed shoes. In his left hand he holds a walking stick.

The Young Maid & Old Sailor, 1785

The Young Maid & Old Sailor, Frances Bartolozzi, 1785, British Museum.

Bartolozzi's print is an interesting exercise in contrast. Standing on the left is a young female in the latest fashions of the middling or upper classes.Sitting on the right is an old male of the lowest class, begging to make ends meet. The contrasts of male and female, young and old, poor and wealthy are emphasized by the differing postures of the figures and the use of light and dark.

The sailor is bare headed, allowing us to see his short cut white hair. At his neck is a dotted neckcloth, tied close to the neck. His jacket is single breasted, matching the material of his waistcoat. The waistcoat is an interesting piece, tied in front rather than buttoned. I have never seen a waistcoat bound this way before!

His trousers are cut close to the leg, but longer than most. Sitting down, they come up to about the height that a modern pair of trousers or jeans might. Round toed shoes are at his feet, and a stick lays across his lap. In his hand, being held out for what money he can get, the sailor clutches his hat. The hat is buttoned on the side facing the viewer, but I can't quite make out what type of hat it is. It could be alternatively interpreted as a round hat with floppy brim, or a cocked hat held at just the right angle.

EDIT: It has been called to my attention that I have misidentified the garment beneath his jacket. It is not a waistcoat at all, but an underwaistcoat. Over at the blog The Buffalo Trace, underwaistcoats are explored in some detail, including a reference to an original that just about perfectly matches the one above.

It has also been called to my attention that this print is a reproduction of an earlier piece by a completely different artist: "A Girl Buying a Ballad" by Henry Walton, in the collection of the Tate Museum, originally painted in 1778. The figure on the right may have been later dubbed a sailor, because of his trousers, round hat, and cane.

Overall, this entire piece is in doubt as to its validity for our study, so I may have to set it aside when doing some larger analysis of sailors' clothing and change over time.

The Macarony Brothers, 1772

The Macarony Brothers, Michel Vincent Brandoin, 1773, Yale University Lewis Walpole Library.

Macaroni (sometimes spelled, as here, "macarony") prints were very popular in the late eighteenth century. These satirical illustrations poked fun at the latest styles and at the men who wore them. I speculate that this print might be reflecting the moral character of the macaroni on the left with the sailor on the right. As "brothers" these two have the same character, though the fop hides it behind his stylish suit and hat.

The jack is accompanied by a monkey, who wears a cocked hat trimmed in tape with a large cockade, a coat, and a fancy shirt with frilled cuffs. His owner makes no effort to present himself as well as the monkey or the macaroni. His hat is either a cocked hat with a narrow brim let down, or a round hat with the edges turned up. The neckcloth is striped, and he wears no waistcoat. Our tar's jacket is single breasted with waist pocket flaps and buttons. The buttons appear to be cloth covered. His trousers end about mid-calf, and are plain. Round toe shoes with rectangular buckles complete his slop clothes. In his left hand is a walking stick, and in his right is the chain to his monkey.

MONKEY!