In recreating the lives of the French in Wisconsin, often I am presented with the opportunity to recreate material culture based on research of what was worn, used, and etc. by these people. The following are some of my more recent projects.
Here is my new sheath (on the left). On the right is a "Chippeway Knife Scabbard" from the Peabody Museum that is from the Hutter collection. Mine is not an exact copy of the Peabody sheath (a few things off, mainly on purpose) but is strongly influenced by it. The body is bison rawhide, incised, and painted with hide glue (red pigment is powdered catlinite). The quilling is on braintan whitetail and is stitched to the sheath with real deer sinew. The cones are tin.
The above and below images are of a calumet that I recently finished. Although most commonly called a "peace-pipe" and most often associated with Indian religion; this type of pipe was an intregal instrument used by both Indian and white people in the 17th century and beyond. Whether an explorer, trader, military official, or etc., a pipe like this would have been carried and used in any formal dealings with the Indian peoples of the Western Great Lakes. For educational purposes, I think this pipe is great as it is one of the few physical items that represents the fact that no matter how European the dealing may have been, Indian protocol and ettiquette had to be followed if there was to be any success in the dealings. The pipe bowl is carved from Catlinite and the stem is decorated with stroud cloth, silk ribbons, brass wire, porcupine quills, glass beads, and feathers.
Here are a new pair of FANCY mocassins I made for myself. They are more or less a copy of the Farquerson pair (ca. 1766) but I added porcupine quill embroidery to the toe and heel seams.
Above is the new capot that I recently completed. It is a simple blue melton capot of the late 18th century and without cuffs. The hoods has a small drawsting as is seen in a few later images (and doesn't appear to be common earlier in the century. It will be noted that the waistcoat worn in this image is the new one shown below. Since, I have redone the collar as I suggested below.
Above and below are images of a new camisole-cut waistcoat that I made for the period of 1790-1810s. I just wanted a simple LIGHTWEIGHT linen waistcoat as my current one is wool and HOT. This is lined only in the fronts. It is a sage linen with white linen lining and a bit of hemp canvas for interfacing in the front. It is 100% handsewn and the buttons are cloth covered wooden forms. My only major complaint is that I could have made the collar longer (farther around the front) and I may change this yet.
When portraying a sergent de la marine here in Wisconsin, I have been wanting a small pocket reference book for commands and orders of the sergent. I composed this using scans of original documents, reformatted them, and printed them on an ivory laid paper. I then made a crude cover of leather (which may be changed eventually) to create a small pocketbook/journal. The original documents include the 1704 drill for the Compagnies Franches de la Marine, the illustrations for the 1703 Infantrie drill, and various orders from the Code Militaire.
Ca. 1800 leggings for my Creole impression. They are made from reproduction wool stroud cloth (created by James Blake of White Savage Trading). I applied silk ribbon in a simple cut-work applique. The loomed bead garter shown was made by Nathan Kobuck of Treaty Elm Traders and is an original Sauk or Dakota garter from the Mississippi collected by Lewis and Clark around 1804 and in the Peabody Museum.
Ca. 1800 ribbonwork wrapskirt for a Wisconsin Creole woman
Fingerwoven bison wool strap with red and white porcupine quill wrapping and white glass beads for a bison powderhorn (horn made by Ward Oles of At the Eastern Door).
A SMALL pair of mocassins made for my oldest daughter when she about a year and a half old.
Reverse and Front of an 18th century chapelet made from a brass crucifix and medal of Joseph and Mary cast from originals (casting by Ward Oles of At the Eastern Door with help from Mike Galban of Wanuken Traditional Arts), olive pits, and handmade (by me) brass wire links. This chapelet is similar to one dated to the 1720s in Louisbourg.
