| Seguendo
un filone storico che sta coinvolgendo diverse case produttrici, la Thunderbird
Historical Miniatures ha prodotto questo singolare soggetto, tratto da una
tavola. La resina, come ormai è consuetudine per tutti i figurini
di ultima generazione, è grigia e leggera. Gli stampi sono precisi
e senza particolari eccedenze o sottosquadri di stampaggio. La scultura
è precisa e dettagliata, anche se il soggetto non ha accessori complessi
od un abbigliamento particolarmente ricco. L'autore della scultura Mark
Mindeman ci ha mandato alcune informazioni che lo hanno aiutato nella realizzazione
del pezzo. |
From:
Tailor Made, Trail Worn – Army Life, Clothing, and Weapons of the
Corps of Discovery. By Robert J. Moore, Jr. Illustrations by Michael Haynes. |
| As Lewis
and Clark began their expedition, they hired experienced boatmen that
inhabited the Mississippi River Valley. These habitants styled themselves
as “Creoles”, a term they used to describe a French, Spanish
or African person born in America. The Creoles, mostly of French descent,
were a colorful site to the military men of the East. The Creoles
provided first-hand accounts and maps of the Missouri River ahead.
The Creoles also provided expertise in hunting, translation, Indian
customs, and boat handling. |
 |
A
typical French Creole boatman from the middle Mississippi
region is shown here in his colorful traditional costume.
He wears a brightly patterned silk handkerchief of yellow
and green stripes on his head; a blue cravat tied in front,
a white capote (blanket coat) with blue trim with large brass
buttons in a double-breasted pattern with a hood. His ragged
dark blue trousers are patched from hard use, and his feet
are adorned with highly decorated one-piece moccasins. His
log, braided queue is draped over one shoulder. |
|
THE
CAPOTE OR BLANKET COAT
Capotes or blanket coats were among the most popular forms
of clothing in North America. A favorite among the fur traders
of the Hudson Bay and North West Trading Companies, capotes
were consistently noted as part of the characteristic garb
of French inhabitants and boatmen of the middle Mississippi
region and along the Missouri River.
The Creole capote was a simple, relatively untailored knee-length
coat made of heavy wool blanketing material, with and attached
hood (called a cape) and cinched about the waist with a sash.
Favorite colors were blue, white, and brown. Winter capotes
had large cuffs, which could be folded over the hands, and
they were double-breasted to provide maximum warmth.
At the time of the expedition, the predominant capote color
was white. The white trade blankets of the era were woven
with wide blue stripes near the ends, and it became fashionable
to leave these stripes on the finished garment, positioned
so that they formed a horizontal border around the skirt of
the coat near the wearer’s knees.
Figure 2 is a fine example of a capote. It is lined with linen
and trimmed around the collar, cuffs, and lapels with red
wool trade cloth. The coat also has a silk ribbon edge binding.
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Back
view of a Creole wearing a capote. |
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| EXAMPLES
OF A FUSIL
The fusil was akin to a musket. This was a lighter, more elegantly
made version of the smoothbore musket, usually of smaller
caliber and shorter in length. The term fusil was most often
used for civilian rather than military firearms.
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