Kyle Dalton
Exploring the dress of common British and American
sailors through primary source images
Categories used most frequently by the blogger:
cocked hat round hat trousers blue jacket 1780s stick 1770s colored jacket 1760s cap bob wig slops petticoat trousers pointed toe shoes white stockings barge cap rectangular buckles 1740s white trousers striped trousers
Origins of a Myth: Tarred Clothing
17 January 2021
I've often read in secondary sources that sailors intentionally tarred their clothing for waterproofing. I haven't seen a primary source that proves this in my period of study.As with...
Color Your Own Historic Sailor
1 June 2020
Back in 2017, my colleague Ben Bartgis shared an April Fool's Day post over at Napoleonic Tars: 1790-1820.The reaction was so positive that Ben decided to make it a real thing and asked...
17 March 2020
Outlander, Season 3 (2017).Follower Justin Anderson e-mailed me a short time ago with a specific request:I'm curious if you have any insights into the origins of the idea that burial...
16 October 2019
Often on this webpage I address assumptions about the past that are imposed by later generations. Sewing a corpse through the nose, wearing canvas hats, nearly all sailors' superstitions,...