The State Tinkers, 1780

The State Tinkers, James Gillray, 1780, Library of Congress.

At first I thought that the Library of Congress had gotten the date wrong, but a close look at the publication date at the bottom shows that the "4" was written on later, over the date.

Personalities representing the heads of Government are busily chipping away at "The National Kettle." King George foolishly proclaims the "Tinkers" as saviors, when in fact they make two holes for every one they claim to fix.

Brandishing a sledgehammer and dressed in the clothing of a common sailor is John Montagu, Fourth Earl of Sandwich, and First Lord of the Admiralty for the North Administration.

Sandwich wears a simple black cap and single breasted blue jacket. His jacket has open slash cuffs, cloth buttons along the front, and waist pockets. A paper poking from that pocket helpfully identifies him as Lord Sandwich. His pale yellow waistcoat is double breasted with cloth covered buttons and simple slit pockets at the waist. Tucked into the waistcoat is a white neckcloth.  Sandwich's slops are grey with what might be a fall front fly, but I can't be sure. His breeches are black, stockings white. Pointed toe shoes with rectangular buckles finish off the First Lord's slop clothes.

The Sailor's Fleet Wedding Entertainment, 1747

The Sailor's Fleet Wedding Entertainment, M. Cooper, 1747, Lewis Walpole Library.

Among the most garish figures of the wedding celebration is a dandy tar who dances for the entertainment of the crowd. His cocked hat has an extremely short brim, and is decorated with a red bow on the left side. The perspective of the viewer is such that it is difficult to tell whether the hat is turned backward or merely cocked very far to the right. Either way, his neckcloth matches the color of his cockade. His blue short jacket flies up behind him as he dances around, making it impossible to tell if it is vented. We can say that it is single breasted. Beneath is a yellow waistcoat that is slightly brighter than the yellow striped breeches. The breeches are bound at the knee with both cloth covered buttons and a tie. White stockings finish off his slop clothes.

Behind him another sailor happily displays his vices: a tall glass and a long pipe. His cocked hat is reversed and his coat is (unsurprisingly) blue.

Off in the corner, a tar kisses his lass despite the shipmate losing his lunch beside them. The romantic sailor wears a reversed cocked hat, light brown short jacket with waist pocket flaps, and slops. The sick mariner wears a somewhat darker brown jacket and reversed cocked hat. Slumbering in his chair despite what is clearly a raucus party, another sailor wears a white neckcloth and single breasted brown jacket.

The groom holds both his wife and his glass. His cockade is the largest of the lot, and matches the color of his mates. The cocked hat is turned point forward. A blue jacket without collar, but with buttoned mariner's cuffs is the central garment of his wedding suit, though it appears he is wear a double breasted white waistcoat beneath. His cravat is also white.

Behind him and gesturing to the admiral on the wall is a shipmate carelessly clutching his pipe. Unlike the others in this scene, he wears his cockade on the right and the point on his cocked hat over his left eye. His jacket matches the hue of the sailors on the far right, and his mariner's cuffs are also buttoned. Behind him is a chap in a jockey style cap and darker brown jacket with cloth covered buttons.

To the far left of the scene is another sailor. His cocked hat is without a cockade. A long waistcoat with pocket flaps rests beneath his unusually long jacket. The blue jacket is also with waist pocket flaps and buttoned mariner's cuffs. In his hand is the ever present stick we so often find sailors carrying.

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 Return, 1750

The Sailor's Return, C. Mosley, 1750, National Maritime Museum.

Works entitled or portraying a sailor's return were a popular topic for artists from the eighteenth and well into the nineteenth century. In this piece, a sailor returns with his mates (many of whom carouse in the background) to a woman so surprised by him that the eggs spill from her basket.

The primary sailor in this piece, standing to our left, sports the now familiar black cocked hat, without tape, cockade, button, or loop, and reversed. The crown appears to be flat on top. His curly hair is loose and short, not even reaching his shoulders. The neckcloth is white and tied like a cravat. Close inspection shows that the cloth is patterned very lightly with grey designs, possibly polka dots. Our tar's jacket is double breasted with cloth covered buttons without collar, lapel, or pockets. His jacket cuffs have slash cuffs with a short row of cloth covered buttons. The open waistcoat beneath is single breasted with narrowly spaced cloth covered buttons, all in yellow with dark vertical stripes. Notably, it is without pockets and has a narrow cutaway ending about the waist, but just low enough to hide the button or buttons of his off-white trousers. The trousers end well above his ankle, showing off his white stockings. His square toed shoes have decorative buckles, perhaps purchased with the prize money of a successful cruise.

The sailor's mate stands beside him and behind the lass, pointing away to the gentleman in the window cradling a bowl of punch. His jacket matches that of the sailor beside him, and he too wears a pair of trousers. The neckcloth on this mariner is a light red, bordering on orange. This cap is a jockey style cap, and one that is found fairly often in earlier pieces, particularly those predating the 1770's.

Their mates in the background to the right, carousing with their women, all wear identical short jackets, except for the fellow quaffing the punch bowl, who has waist pockets on his. Two of them wear caps identical to the fellow behind the woman in the center of the image, and all have loose, short hair. The seaman with the punch bowl is the only one whose trousers we can see clearly, and they match the others. His shoes appear to have pointed toes.