Rubber Shelter Half?

[georgewunderlich]

Has anyone here ever heard of such an beast? It seems that one has been located with the Sanitary Commison stamp on the cloth side. I am looking for any information that may be out there as we are going to request the artifact for a display.

FYI, this particular item will be part of a Clara Barton exhibit as it was found in her wartime office attic along with a number of other items that are directly connected to her.

I hope to have photos soon but it may be a month or more before I can get back into the collections facility to begin the unfolding process.

Thanks in advance!

[Andrew German]

Re: Rubber Shelter Half?

Hello George,

Check Fred Gaede's The Federal Civil War Shelter Tent (O'Donnell, 2001). The 1st Penna. Cav. received "India Rubber tents" in February 1862, which were possibly Day's poncho tents, made of gutta percha or India rubber-covered cloth that were issued to a number of regiments around that time. Or perhaps the Sanitary Commission devised its own improvements to the standard cotton or linen shelter half.
Andrew German

[georgewunderlich]

Re: Rubber Shelter Half?

I will check that source right away. We will need to get the tent unfolded to get a complete picture of the construction details. It is just such a wonderful item and one I had never run into before.

[john duffer]

Re: Rubber Shelter Half?

Well, it's not rubber per se but the Day's Patent Poncho Tent is pretty much waterproofed and there's are several early war knapsack/shelter combo's that are rubberized or gutta percha. Gaede's Shelter Tent book has additional info on these. Phil Cavanaugh (Haversack Depot) reproduces the Day's, it's excellent as a ground cloth because it weighs about a gram but probably not all that PEC.

[Ross L. Lamoreaux]

Re: Rubber Shelter Half?

Worshner's "India Rubber and Gutta Percha in the Civil War" contains mention of India rubber tentage as advertised in period sources. There were no known extent originals at publishing, but there are descriptions as offered in the advertisements.

[CSchneider]

Re: Rubber Shelter Half?

Nice find. Previously I had not heard of a surviving "civilian" rubber blanket, though they certainly existed before, during, and after the war. As Ross noted, similar pieces can be found in period advertisements. Goodyear's 1853 Gum-elastic describes grometted "tent carpets" and other types of like items such as "awnings," "tents," "flies," etc.: http://books.google.com/books?id=Kjs...arpets&f=false.

Grometted rubberized cloth gum blanket thingies seem to be one of those items we mistakenly associate only with Civil War U.S. Army use, when really they were just a period commercial item adopted by the military--and apparently the Sanitary Commission.

-Craig Schneider

[Moonshine]

Re: Rubber Shelter Half?

I'm interested to see what the Sanitary Commisson stamp looks like. Seems this might be a nice touch of authenticity to something donated by a particular chapter that you now posses.

[Shockoe Hill Cats]

Re: Rubber Shelter Half?

Zouavé aficionado, Tom Scoufalos, and I did some research into the patent "tent knapsack" the 11th New York (1st Fire Zouaves) were issued. We came across several patents, two of which come to mind.

1. John Rider's Patent Tent Knapsack of New York City, stated in "The Prairie Traveller: A Handbook" written by Gen. Randolph B. Marcy of the Army of the Potomac in 1863.

2. William Johns Patent "Convertible Cloak and Tent," October 22, 1861.

Now, as to whether the U.S. Sanitary Commission "approved" any of these tents, I don't know. But here are two early-war examples of tent knapsack. Some get even more obscure... (one we dubbed the patent "Optimus Prime Knapsack!")

[georgewunderlich]

Re: Rubber Shelter Half?

Here is a photo I hope I do this right!

[Moonshine]

Re: Rubber Shelter Half?

Mr. Wunderlich,

Cool photo and item! Any idea how big the letters are and if you could share a close-up photo of just the letters? It looks to me it reads, "Sanitary Commission" - no city or other marks you can see??? I was under the impression the stamp would be a bit more fancy - say something on an arch, rather than just a straight stencil.

Thanks for sharing,

[georgewunderlich]

Re: Rubber Shelter Half?

Currently the item is in storage and it is not easy to get to. In the next month or two we are going to bring it to our facility and have some conservation specialists help us unfold it and prepare it for a complete survey. I will be able to tell you more at that time and provide more photos.

I could not see any other marks the way it is folded. It does indeed say "sanitary commission" but hopfully we will see more when it is unfolded.

Thanks for your interest.

[John McPherson]

Re: Rubber Shelter Half?

The buttonholes on the artifact look hand-worked and the rope resembles closely the type found on WWI-WWII pup tents. It looks to me like a well-used gum blanket!

John McP

[fahnenschmied]

Re: Rubber Shelter Half?

George,

Any news on when they are going to unfold this item? I wanted to make soemthing similar, and was curious if this had a head slit like the Days's poncho tent, thread grommets or brass grommets, etc. Thanks for any help!