Readymade Goods!

[mustanggray]

List,

A good friend and Brother of mine just recently sent me some advertisements he'd collected from Texas papers from just prior to and during the Texian War for Independence. I was amazed to see the amount of readymade clothing being offered for sale in Brazoria and San Felipe. Not only was there a wide variety of readymade clothing being consitently offered there were also tailors advertising their services to the citizenry of these towns. Now before someone jumps up and says "the common Texian didn't have any money to buy such things!" take note that many of the firms offering these goods and services also advertised that they took livestock and produce in trade for services and goods!

While I'm not saying that all early Texians were running around in tophats, frockcoats, silk vests, pantaloons and boots I am saying that once again, we find evidence that these goods were available! And for those who argue that the common Texian matriarch wove yardgoods for her family's clothing take note that there seems to be as much or more yardgoods being offered that readymade clothing... seems someone was buying this stuff to turn into clothing for someone!

Anyway, I just thought possibly someone here would be interested in seeing the types of readymade clothing available to the Texian man... enjoy! ;D

SMc

February 14, 1835

Texas Republican (printed in Brazoria)

goods offered by Manson & Bailey

New Goods - Have just received per Schr Brazoria a fresh supply of Winter and Spring clothing, shoes, boots, and hats, and dry Goods, among which are - shirts, collars, and stocks; blue, black and brown dress coats; Blue black and brown frock coats; green, drab, brown, & black merino frock coats; Dark & light drab petersham surtouts & hunting coats, Lion-skin do; Superior brown, blue & drab cloaks; Merseilles, valencia, black silk; Bombazine and black silk velvet vests; blue, black, brown & drab pantaloons; Ladies kid, lasting pranello and morrocco shoes; Gentlemans pumps, shoes and brogans; Dark and light fancy prints and calicoes; Fancy painted French muslins; Plain bleahced book muslin; mull Jaconette and camblirc do; brown and bleached shirtings and sheetings; Irish sheetings; Irish Linins; some very superior plaids, checks, Linsey cottons flannels, grass & brown Linnens; and a great variety of Fancy jdkfs and shawls, black and white hose & half hose, mericoes and velvets assorted colors spools; Cotton; ribbons; pins and nedles and tapes; thimbles, scissors, pencisl; coffoured sewing and linnen thead; writing paper, quills, superior dirk & pen knives; silver & steel spectacles; Razors and straps; shaving brushes & boxes, brass & Iron butts & door hinges; knives & forks, cloth, hair Hat & shoe brushes, tooth brushes, pocket books; gun locks & flints; all of which they will sell at very reduced prices for cash.

P.S. the hunting coats listed are NOT hunting frocks... they were a type of greatcoat/overcoat probably loaded down with pockets for the hunter/outdoorsman(I've seen these in fashion plates from the late 1830's-early 1840's).

[Wade Dillon]

Wonderful list, Scott and thank you for sharing!

Didn't Travis purchase some clothing in San Felipe? I may be mistaken.

[bobdurham]

Thanks for sharing Mustang -- very interesting. I feel sure that the single men would have been buying ready-made stuff; what other choice would they have had?

[TRK]

Thanks for posting it, Scott. I eat this sort of stuff for breakfast.

re. Bob's point, another choice single men may have had was to buy, barter, or otherwise acquire homemade clothes from local seamstresses, full-time or amateur, but that probably supposes that homemade would have been cheaper and more available than ready-made.

[Kevin Young]

Great stuff!

[stuart]

Something else to bear in mind is that, apart from Tejanos, all of those living in Texas at this time were first generation settlers, all of whom had come from elsewhere in the US or Europe, and all of whom had sufficient resources to get there in the first place. They may not have been rich, far from it in a lot of cases, but we're not generally speaking talking about dirt poor people who couldn't afford store clothes.

Reverting to the New Orleans Greys, its similarly worth remembering that they all went out and bought themselves work pants and jackets and those sealskin hunting caps because they wanted something hard-wearing as a campaign dress "fit for life on the prairie" rather than because it was all they could get or afford.

[Don Allen]

Somewhere around here, I have a list of items brought on the wagons by my Wills ancestors to Texas. Apparently one of the family took the time to take an inventory.

I remember it containing some clothing lists. I'll dig it up and post it here in the next day or so.

[mustanggray]

I think the dirt poor section of Texas would have been fairly small... at least the section that was so poor they couldn't afford to at least barter for readymade goods. And regarding Tejanos, I believe it's in Almonte's report, but it may be elsewhere, that Tejanos in San Antonio are reportedly purchasing readymade goods from the U. States and selling them in town after hauling them overland. The same friend who showed me the advert at the beginning of this thread has also found evidence of Bexar merchants going down to the coast to purchase readymade clothing and goods being brought in from the states(intended for anglo settlements) to be sold in Bexar.

Regarding local seamstresses, we know Travis used them for his shirts at least. There were local tailors, some probably more professional than others, that were also used by Travis so there were certainly a number of options for one looking to purchase clothing.

I find all of this very interesting... since most folks will first argue these goods weren't available and later that they weren't affordable by most Texians. More research needs to be done on the second account but the first is pretty much rubbish! There are numerous adds for readymade clothing and yardgoods for making into clothing from the earliest days of San Felipe and Brazoria.

Very cool stuff for the material culture geeks out there!

SMc

[Herb]

I don't think there's all that much argument on what was available - it seems to me that most of the debate is on what in fact was worn on campaign.

To echo Stuart's point most men weren't going to wear their best as they went off to the army - though some no doubt did - they were going to buy tougher clothes - or wear their second suit, or for farmers and tradesmen their work clothes, etc.

While not having the material abundance (for the most part) of us today, they weren't all that different from us. IF they had a choice (and most would) they wouldn't wear their best Brooks Brothers suit, off to war.

[mustanggray]

Well, over the years quite a few have flat out told me readymade clothing wasn't available and that folks in Texas werent' wearing frockcoats or tailcoats. That's just simply not borne out by ads like the one above.

Regarding campaign dress, it is true that most would not have worn their best clothing but if we look at contemporary accounts I think we can see that alot of these men joined up in whatever they had on. Doesn't Smithwick mention tophats along side of fur caps? Burleson was described as wearing a matching jacket and trousers during the San Jacinto campaign. Frockcoats were daily wear of the period and I've a pretty strong feeling they were worn on campaign by more than one Texian. The NOG's and their purchase of clothing was brought up... they were purchasing readymade work clothing to wear off to war. We tend to misunderstand what was considered "nicer" or "formal" wear for the Texians of the 1830's and 40's based on our modern and very lax dress codes and lump garments into a dress category that at the time would've been considered common everyday wear. If you look at Sidney Mounts paintings of farmers and laborers you'll see a number of them in frockcoats and vests in the fields or at some other chore and I believe this would've been seen/played out during the revolution as well.

SMc

[mustanggray]

Wade,

Are you asking if Travis ever bought clothes in San Felipe or if he bought clothing in San Felipe before heading off to the Alamo? I can't remember off the top of my head where he bought the flag and leggings but this was on his way West. I believe those leggings are actually what some today would call gaiters but that's another discussion altogether! ;D

SMc

[Paul Sylvain]

Wow! I'm loving this stuff. And it certainly paints a different picture of what some of these guys looked like. Interesting, indeed. Thanks for posting.

Paul

[Herb]

Sept 16, 2009 13:39:31 GMT -5 mustanggray said:

Regarding campaign dress, it is true that most would not have worn their best clothing but if we look at contemporary accounts I think we can see that alot of these men joined up in whatever they had on. Doesn't Smithwick mention tophats along side of fur caps? Burleson was described as wearing a matching jacket and trousers during the San Jacinto campaign. Frockcoats were daily wear of the period and I've a pretty strong feeling they were worn on campaign by more than one Texian. The NOG's and their purchase of clothing was brought up... they were purchasing readymade work clothing to wear off to war. We tend to misunderstand what was considered "nicer" or "formal" wear for the Texians of the 1830's and 40's based on our modern and very lax dress codes and lump garments into a dress category that at the time would've been considered common everyday wear. If you look at Sidney Mounts paintings of farmers and laborers you'll see a number of them in frockcoats and vests in the fields or at some other chore and I believe this would've been seen/played out during the revolution as well.

SMc

I think we only differ on a matter of degree. Vests were common - by necessity, and Smithwick indeed mentions tophats, along with coonskins, though I seriously think the tophat is being as overplayed today as the coonskin was in 1960. IMO, the prevalent headgear would have been an 1830s version of the slouch hat, followed by a common workers cap (can't think of the proper name, now). I also think frock coats are being excessivily portrayed, today - not that they weren't present - but just like the 1960s Buckskin outfit, not everybody was wearing them.

Now, lawyers, politicians and wantabe politicans who hoped to serve as officers probably had a much higher percentage of tophats and frockcoats then the common soldiers ;D .

[stuart]

So far as wearing frock coats and the like "in the fields", you have to remember that this wasn't a throwaway culture. If something got too shabby to wear to church on Sunday, it would be worn to work on Monday, or given to the hired hand as part wages on Tuesday - once the new coat had been bought

[mustanggray]

Stuart,

That's correct but just remember, frocks were not the dress garment of the day so it wouldn't have been unheard of for a fellow to have been wearing one at his chores even if it wasn't totally worn out. I've actually contemplated making a frockcoat to look like some of those that Mount painted, completely worn out and busting at the seams! ;D

Wolfpack,

People today tend to think of tophats as being worn only by the upper class but in looking at contemporary art they seem to be worn by just about everyone. Mount shows them and Bingham has them on riverboatmen... I think tophats(proper style) are underrepresented in the TWI living history/reenactment community, just as are frockcoats(again, proper style). What is overdone is hunting frocks(of the wrong pattern, but hf's in general) buckskins(rarely see braintan or alum tan) and fur "caps"... and mechanics caps, d**n near EVERYONE has one and most wear them but hey, if they want to keep me employed making the things I'm game!

SMc