A late 1890's look for ya ta ponder

[Delmonico]

Cropped from picture 12615 of the Butcher Collection. 



This picture was acually taken in 1905 in Denver and may be an early version of The 101 Ranch Show, but it is the best quality picture of this style I have found to date.  The Angora chaps and the striped turtle-neck sweaters start to appear on the Northern Plains in the middle 1890's to some degree, perhaps even earlier, but was getting fairly common by the late 1890's. 

Add a 1892 Winchester, and a swing out cylinder Colt of the proper model, perhaps a 1897 Winchester and even a 1890 Remington, toss on a pair of wrist cuffs and as the kids say today, "you'd be stylin'."

[Steel Horse Bailey]

I wouldn't be caught dead!  Unless I was a cowpoke, lived there, and at that time ... 

[Delmonico]

I wouldn't be caught dead!  Unless I was a cowpoke, lived there, and at that time ... 

Ya haven't priced Angora Chaps lately either I bet.   "Bout the price of a new rifle the last time I checked.   My wife did say if i would buy the cotton yarn she would make me the sweater sometime.  Be nice on those chilly evenings.   Could always get a raccoon coat and a little pennant to wave and cheer the Newbrassky Bugeaters on in the fall.

[Advertising]

[The Avocado Kid]

The Boots are starting to get pointed as well. Dusty.

[Delmonico]

Some were pointy before that, just not the majority.

[St. George]

The practicality of something like that sweater - or one of the cowl necks often seen in those photos of the Northern Plains can't be denied.

It was windy and cold a good part of the year.

Most folks take their idea of what a period cowboy looked like from movies and from paintings that dealt primarily with the Border and Southern Plains, where shirts and vests were so common, and not from up North, where coats were often daily garb, throughout the year.

Styles did differ -  as did fashion - and while the cowboy wasn't afraid of color - he apparently had an equally 'adventurous' idea toward patterns...

Vaya,

Scouts Out!

[Delmonico]

Even down in New Mexico where it can get a bit cool in places sweaters show up.  Billy the Kid had a button up one.

[Trap]

   Just noticed that Mr. bonney appears to have a ring on little finger holding the rilre. would be interesting to know what that ring is.

[James Hunt]

Note one other "style" difference in the chaps the fella's are wearing. All early images of cowboys I have seen show the chap legs brought together tightly at the waist band with the 5 or more holes tightly brought together with leather lace, the tie often on the inside of the chap. With the turn of the century you start to see the waist band spread apart and secured with but one or two lace wraps - as seen today on many working cowboy chaps or chinks.

This probably has nothing to do with "style" and more to do with safety - at least the argument used today. When the chaps are drawn tightly together there is less chance that they will be caught over the horn and an unbalanced cowboy thrown still attached to the saddle and a terrified horse. When chap (or chinks now 'adays) legs are not drawn tightly together the theory is that a singe lace is more likely to break in such a situation. Important for a working cowboy and moreso when working with colts or rodeo broncs.

The question then becomes, why did cowboy's start to alter chaps with many lace holes obviously designed to be tightly laced together - and had been for the previous 30 years - to be used as we do today with the waist band not drawn tightly together?

Again, you start to see this at the turn of the century and there are many images of the early rodeo crowd doing this, and at least one image of Tom Mix in his movie day's wearing a pair of woolies in this manner.

I have never read any source that discusses such a comment by a cowboy of the period. Supposition on my part? Cowboy's and other folks got larger in the 20th century - particularly those with money (rodeo crowd, movie stars). Chaps were expensive even for the aforementioned. They might have lengthened the belt, but perhaps it became easier to adjust the front. After seeing the firt guy get dragged across the arena, someone came up with the idea to connect the waist band with one lace. That is my guess and as such should not be repeated as truth.

Does anyone know of a period source that discusses this change in "style" (perhaps a function induced style).

[Delmonico]

One must also not forget that they styles the winnin' were wearin' was a changin' also.  When I first saw this picture doin' the search "shotgun" I thought I had found a photo of a Wild West Show performer.  Miss Sadie Austin, near Simeon, Cherry County Nebraska 1900.



Picture 12988 Butcher Collection.

However Butchers notes and John Carter's notes does not meantion "Wild West Show" performer.  I am pretty sure if she was that would have been meantioned in Butcher's notes.

(Photographer's note: Daughter of Charles Austin, a ranchman and old settler of Sargent, Nebraska. When her father was short of help, Sadie, now Mrs. Thompson, would put on a divided skirt and ride the range for her father.)

{In 1981, Robert Vaughn Bell identified the saddle on Austin's horse as being a model 14-P, made by the well-known Cheyenne, Wyoming, saddler Frank Meanea.}

The skirt appearsto be some sort of leather, a wise idea if ground work was needed because of the cacti and sandburrs common in the area.

[Delmonico]

Does anyone know of a period source that discusses this change in "style" (perhaps a function induced style).

James, post this question on the Leather Shop forum and I bet you get an answer.  Nolan Sackett/Chuck Burrows/Wild Rose Trading Company will more likely see it over there.  If anyone knows the answer Chuck would, besides some of the others over there are good with this type of items history.

[James Hunt]

I posted the image and my question on the leather shop - if I get a response I will submit it here for all. Regards 

[Delmonico]

I forgot to post the full picture 12615.



Listed as a bunch of Old ime Cowboys and Bronc Busters Denver Colarado 1905.

Some of us are wonderin' if the guy on the far left is Bill Pickett and that is an early 101 Ranch show group.  Bill started with them that year.

The only picture I could find of him was about 15 years newer.

[Silver Creek Slim]

Does this help?


Slim

[Silver Creek Slim]

Well, Del that photo ya posted of Bill Pickett is mis-labeled. It is actually of Bill's brother, Ben Pickett. See the link below.
http://www.postalmuseum.si.edu/artofthestamp/subpage%20table%20images/artwork/rarities/Bill%20Pickett/billpickett.htm

Slim

[Tubac]

That's  a really clean photo of Billy the Kid. I see he's wearing a sweater and a vest and a bib shirt, with some embroidery on the bid. Must have been cold that day. I have a question on the photo,
Was the top cropped, cutting off part of his hat, or was the hat squashed down?
 It looks like a Hardee hat?
Thanks,

Tubac

[Delmonico]

That's  a really clean photo of Billy the Kid. I see he's wearing a sweater and a vest and a bib shirt, with some embroidery on the bid. Must have been cold that day. I have a question on the photo,
Was the top cropped, cutting off part of his hat, or was the hat squashed down?
 It looks like a Hardee hat?
Thanks,

Tubac

I'ts squashed, were lots of similar hats to the Hardee, but could be one.  Most photos you've seen of Billy the Kid (No one is 100% sure that is him, but most think it is) are touched up copies or copies of touched up copies of this picture, the original tin type,(reversed of course, this is not a left handed person)  This is a scanned copy of a real clear copy out of J.L. Wilson's Winchester book.  None of the on-line copies of the untouched original had this many pixels.

Well, Del that photo ya posted of Bill Pickett is mis-labeled. It is actually of Bill's brother, Ben Pickett. See the link below.
http://www.postalmuseum.si.edu/artofthestamp/subpage%20table%20images/artwork/rarities/Bill%20Pickett/billpickett.htm

Slim

I went back and checked, didn't read it all, did a Bill Pickett search on the Denver Public Library collection and Ben popped up.  Well I didn't read far enough, but just copied.   When all else fails, read everything.  either way I would guess there is a possibality and might even be likely that is him.  Of course neither him or the 101 show was famous enough for Butcher to bother to write down who they were.

Let that be a lesson to us all, write down every detail of what you do and what you use and put it in a format that will survive 100's of years, oh and make sure it is in a format they can understand, otherwise folks in the future will sit up all night drinkin' essspreessooo's tryin' to figure out what we did and what we had.

[Delmonico]

I posted this in James thread in the Leather Shop, will add it here for any feed back.

OK, I worked with this as best I could, I can't get it to elnlage and copy but I can enlarge it an look at it.  Copy it into your computor and enlarge it.  All three of these chaps have more holes in them that are not being used.





Since most of the early rodeo/Wild West Cowboys wore common range clothes, I'd guess James yer on the right track as to why they only used on string on these and most likely went on into range gear.  If you got hung up on the horn it would break. 

About 20 years after that picture was taken, a fella who I can't remember his name right now, no matter, watched a rodeo cowboy get hung up on the horn and get drug pretty bad.  He got this idea to make shirts using snaps instead of buttons.  The snaps would open easily.  He added fancy mother of pearl to them cause cowboys and rodeo cowboys in perticular like to be a bit gawdy.  Rockmont Ranch Wear Company was formed.

Also some time in that period the Rodeo Cowboys Association banned saddles with horns for saddle bronc and made a certian syle tree be used ro make the saddle, the Association Tree Saddle as it is commonly refered to.

[Tubac]

Thanks for the info on the Kid's photo, Delmonico.
I'm not well versed on hat styles, so I called it a Hardee just because it resembles one.
It's interesting that he would not "unsmash" the hat before a photo. I'd think getting your picture took would be a big deal.
Tubac

PS How do you post an avatar(?) photo?

[Irish Dave]

Admittedly, computer screen resolution is not as good as we'd sometimes like, but am I crazy or does that construction at the far right of the group photo look like bleechers to anyone else but me? Del may have a better shot at determining, but it looks like rows of seats on my screen. If so, that might lend additional creedence to the thought that this might be a wild west show photo.

Also about dead center in the background, that looks to me like fence posts or the sides of a pen etc. Also possibly to contain show livestock??