The Armour Archive

Tracy Justus

Are you ready to take orders yet? I want a Mary Rose comb. --T.

Tracy Justus

He has a public FB page: The Raleigh Collection. Check out his photos and albums to see some of his work. Gnagy knows his stuff. I wish I'd had more money to throw at his kickstarter.

T.

Tracy Justus

Spanish Peacock is in the process of revamping his website. He hopes to go live Monday. Mike's been focusing on his turned and laser decorated spindles (which are lovely, but I don't spin) and has let other woodwork fall by the wayside. He's no longer taking custom orders. Crossman Crafts does fine ...

Tracy Justus

I'm pleased you are exploring medieval and renaissance combs with the idea of offering reproductions. I'm definitely in the market for a Mary Rose comb. Will you also laser-cut the bone for the inlays, or will you have to use a plastic imitation? Have you considered making medieval spectacle frames,...

Tracy Justus

Watts of Westminster (furnishings) and Watts and Company (ecclesiastical)

Tracy Justus

It was nice meeting folks Saturday night. I was astonished that 11 of you fit into Tom's shop- if anyone has a photo please post it.

Tracy

Tracy Justus

I found out today that Toby Capwell will be collaborating with Ninya Mikhaila (of Tudor Tailor ) on a future publication with the working title Doublets of Defense . I inquired if they were going to examine the ex-Finer doublet and got this reply from NM: "I haven't seen it but Toby has, apparently ...

Tracy Justus

I'm looking for information on the doublet that was for sale in the 1997 Peter Finer catalogue. I have the basic info and one photograph. Are there more photos? Does any one know if this is in a museum?

Thanks, Tracy

Tracy Justus

We live 20 mins to the west of Wade and can offer crash space as well. Count Tom in on whatever weekend you choose- we have no commitments for June right now.

Tracy

Tracy Justus

If you are dyeing you want to wash oils out of the fabric that might prevent the dye from penetrating. Even fingerprints can leave smudges. Washing can consist of soaking in cold soapy water, agitating lightly, then rinsing cold a couple of times. Spin as much water out as you can then air dry.

T.

Tracy Justus

The Higgins Armory is closing permanently at the end of the year.
T.

Tracy Justus

Aw, you guys are making me blush. --Tracy (Clare de Crecy in the SCA)

Tracy Justus

I love this image from 1603 of a little boy with his club and ball.

T.

Tracy Justus

I was thinking beeswax because it is hard at room temp and stays hard even with handling. My (admittedly limited) experience with tallow is that it softens with handling. You've said your beeswax is sticky. I just checked the beeswax I rendered out from our hives last fall and it's slightly tacky bu...

Tracy Justus

Any updates? I was thinking about resists... would it be possible to coat the last with enough beeswax so that when you wanted to remove the liner you could warm the whole thing enough to liquify the beeswax? Whatever you use as a resist between the liner and the cover has to be pretty thin. Years a...

Tracy Justus

Looking good, Dan. Have you seen the sailor's breeches and shirt in the Museum of London? I know Ninya Mikhaila has examined it and she may be able to tell you some details. Also, there's a Dutch shipwreck from 1590 with some pretty cool artifacts (including tools) if you want to flesh out your impr...

Tracy Justus

Sadly the V&A has not posted a photo of that piece yet. I've seen a black and white photo (in Merchants, Princes and Painters). Do you have a color one, Galfrid?

T.

Tracy Justus

Check out the lining of this well-known alms purse: yellow and purple silk plaid.

T.

-The photo collection is worth exploring. Here's the search engine: http://www.photo.rmn.fr/cf/htm/Search_New.aspx

Tracy Justus

My recollection from an article on pinking and slashing that Janet Arnold wrote for Costume is that gum arabic was sometimes painted on the backside of fabric to control fraying. The whole cloth wasn't painted, just the slashes. I don't remember if in the pieces she examined whether it was applied b...

Tracy Justus

Mac- is it feasible that the hose were pointed to the waistline holes and legs were pointed to the holes along the margin? Other surviving (unquestionably civilian) garments of the period have holes all 'round for pointing hose.

T.

Tracy Justus

Thanks for the photos, Bertus. Note also that below the waist there are eyelets for lacing and above there are buttons and buttonholes.

T.

Tracy Justus

I saw that, Mac, but didn't want to derail the other thread. In thinking about what the loops could be made of I'm inclined toward metal too. The guys who'd need to regularly unfasten/refasten their hose in order to bend over would be laborer-types who'd get sweaty. Leather or thread based loops wou...

Tracy Justus

You are right, I think they are steel rather than fabric. I wasn't thinking about what I was seeing and didn't consider the posibility of a kettle hat over a bascinet. Yes, stylistically the manuscript looks like those from Milan in the late 14th c but I haven't done the research to verify that gut ...

Tracy Justus

The mounted man on the right in the red kettle hat is pretty clearly wearing a coif. Likewise a couple of soldiers in this illumination. St George too.

Thanks for the link to that manuscript. This is the first time I can recall seeing soldiers wearing purses.

Tracy

Tracy Justus

Sadly it looks like I can't access the photo collection on AAF without contributing some photos of my own to the database. Unfortunately our computers went tits up since our last museum visits and we no longer have museum armor photos stored on them. We do have photos on disc, somewhere. I'll get my...

Tracy Justus

Thanks Alcy. You prompted me to finally register for the AAF. Now to wait to get a mod's approval before I can look at content...

T.

Tracy Justus

I found a reference to the hat in a 1949 Grancsay essay on costume and armor- he said it was probably worn by a page at the 1620 wedding of Gustavus Adolphus and it was in the Royal Armoury. I searched the online collection of the Livrustkammaren (Royal Armoury) but no joy, nor is it in Sweden: a Ro...

Tracy Justus

I found this photo of a burgonet covered in silk with gold embroidery, pearls, and edged in gold braid. The only info I have is from the caption: "1620s Sweden". Judging from the other photos in the album it's in a European collection but my google-fu has failed me. Does anyone here know anything ab...

Tracy Justus

I told you when it came up at auction that you should put the minimum bid in on that helmet, and it didn't sell the first go around. It could've been yours, and quite a conversation piece!

T.

Tracy Justus

More information . The Church of St Nicholas in Wil, Switzerland, for example, possesses the striking armoured and jewelled skeleton of the third-century martyr St Pancratius, taken from the catacombs in the 17th century.... The remains of St Pancratius – or whomsoever he may have been – were sent ...

Tracy Justus

The Rijksmuseum has put large zoomable photos of 125K items in their collection online. I haven't played with it yet but apparently you can make your own portfolio, akin to Pinterest.

T.

Tracy Justus

Gilded leather strips were used to outline designs on wool and linen wall hangings. The 14th c Tristan hanging is done that way. Those are fairly short pieces, however. The long piece I saw was applied to the edge of the child's brigandine in Chartres. It is continuous from hem*, up the front and ar...

Tracy Justus

Nope. No project for his son this year. --Tracy

Tracy Justus

I'm pretty sure the appliqued gilt strip I've seen in person was gut. It was too long a continuous piece to be sinew, and quite smooth and of even width. Sinew is a possibility for the weaving, however, and something I hadn't considered.

T.

Tracy Justus

I'd like to find the thin supple leather filament (ie, gut) that was used in some medieval weaving and applique. Gilded would be idea, but I could probably figure out how to gild it myself.

T.

Re: Combs

Re: Men's Doublet book on Kickstarter

Re: Combs

Re: Combs

Re: Sources for luxury fabrics online?

Re: 2013 study session - Efland, NC - June 1-2 2013

Re: 16th c doublet from '97 Finer catalogue

16th c doublet from '97 Finer catalogue

Re: 2013 study session - any interest? Help me plan.

Re: Pretreating wool?

The Higgins is closing

Re: Show off your 'Soft Kit' 2013!

Re: Golf during the 15th & 16th centuries

Re: Cuir bouilli etuis

Re: Cuir bouilli etuis

Re: Show off your 'Soft Kit' 2013!

Re: 14th c plaid

14th c plaid

Re: slashing fabric

Re: Late Fourteenth Century Arming Garments II: The Upper Bo

Re: Late Fourteenth Century Arming Garments II: The Upper Bo

Re: Hosen detail

Re: Late Fourteenth Century Arming Garments I: Caps

Re: Late Fourteenth Century Arming Garments I: Caps

Re: Burgonet in silk w/embroidery and pearls

Re: Burgonet in silk w/embroidery and pearls

Re: Burgonet in silk w/embroidery and pearls

Burgonet in silk w/embroidery and pearls

Re: Arms and Armor: Restoration and Conservation

Re: St. Gallen in Wil, Switzerland: Prince Abbey of St. Gall

The Rijksmuseum, in detail

Re: What can you just not buy?

Re: It's Halloween! Have I missed Wade's traditional submiss

Re: What can you just not buy?

Re: What can you just not buy?