Another "Selden" shirt....

[fahnenschmied]

I stumbled across this last year in a search for British army shirts on the internet; it seems to be little known among reenactors on this continent. Thought I'd post a link before it disappeared or my computer died, taking it with it. Similar fabric, but slightly different from the Selden shirt, three hole buttons, broad arrow stamp, etc - there is a short video...

http://www.nationaltreasures.com.au/treasures/conshirt/index.html

[CSchneider]

Re: Another "Selden" shirt....

Good stuff. Thanks for posting the video.

There are a handful of the early/mid 19th Century British military shirts out there. Both the one in the video and the one in the attached photo were of earlier manufacture than the one Selden got. All have some minor variations.

-Craig Schneider

[fahnenschmied]

Re: Another "Selden" shirt....

I am sure that there is alot of stuff "out there", forgotten or hiding in museums, curated by people who think nobody is interested in seeing certain thing in their collections. Surely there is also somewhere an issue British blanket from the 1850s/60s, but I cannot yet find a picture of one.
Thanks for posting the picture of this shirt - never seen this one before. Why do you say this one and the one in Australia are earlier than Seldens? Is it the collar? I had been told by somebody who had seen it that the collar appeared to have been cut down on the Selden shirt.
Any idea of what the big stamp on this shirt is from? Thanks again for posting the photo!!!

[PenPusher]

Re: Another "Selden" shirt....

Craig,

Whats the location of the shirt in your image?

[CSchneider]

Re: Another "Selden" shirt....

Why do you say this one and the one in Australia are earlier than Seldens? Is it the collar? I had been told by somebody who had seen it that the collar appeared to have been cut down on the Selden shirt.
Any idea of what the big stamp on this shirt is from?

The shirt that I attached the image of is in the National Museum of Australia.

The Selden shirt has a WD stamp and has a manufacturer's mark and date of 1859. David, the shirt you provided the link to has an earlier Board of Ordnance stamp on it. The shirt in the National Museum of Australia was discovered several decades ago mixed with materials with 1830s provenance.

No idea on the large stamp, though it may have something to do with it having presumably been used by, or at least slated to be issued to, a convict that had been transported from Britain to Australia.

The collar on the Selden shirt is definitely smaller than these two shirts. Also, the top edge of Selden's collar was folded over and whipped down. However, after examining the original shirt very closely, I couldn't find any evidence that anything was ever cut from the collar. While I could be wrong, it appears to have been simply folded down and stitched. Maybe somebody thought the collar was about 3/8" too tall. However, the stitching also appears to have been done with the same or similar thread, and by the same hand as the rest of the shirt. Tough call on the story behind that detail.

-Craig Schneider

[fahnenschmied]

Re: Another "Selden" shirt....

Thanks, Craig - I hadn't realized the Selden shirt also had a manufacturers mark and date. And I really should have noticed the difference between the WD and BO - must be suffering from the ill effects of my cold....brain is dull.
One other question, since you have seen it up close - Was the Selden shirt made from linen or cotton?