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Re: Ration Labels Help, Part #2
Chris,
I miss your great interpretive rants on the old FGLHA forum. :cry_smile
Your search for milk and meat biscuits dovetail in the form of Gail Borden, Jr., and these two links from the same website scratch the surface:
Not to be confused with Gail Gordon
Military Uses of the Meat Biscuit
The good news is Googlebooks has at least a half dozen 1850s-1860s primary references to meat biscuits, although not all are from the US. Just do a quick search, and they'll pop up nicely.
Don Smith of TMD provided this non-approved vendor link a while back. Much of their label stock is decidedly post war, so pick and choose carefully, however, their one and two pound cans are reasonably priced:
Victor Trading
There is an allegedly immediately postwar Van Camp's "Pork and Beans in Tomato Sauce" label on a CW reenactor label site along with the usual common labels for boot black, matches, etc. I've cleared out a few dozen product label links lately, but you may find that site with a quick search, and the link has been posted on this forum a few dozen times.
Don't rule out a phone call to John Maki of Maki's Boxes, either. His wealth of CW era packaging knowledge most likely extends into the immediate post war era, too. While on the subject of old reliables, re-examine the rations sections of Kautz, as it is an 1865 publication that explains far more than just the bacon, coffee, and melado in the tables we normally use.
Random comments about hardtack in smaller boxes have encouraged head scratching for years. What I cannot determine is whether those smaller boxes were factory issue with the hardtack, or simply hardbread acquired in smaller quantities from a ration breakdown point....the same way cardboard boxes were used for a later generation. If you'll do a quick and dirty experiment sometime, fill a common CW era tomato or peach can box with crackers, and note how close this comes to the "3 or 4 rations," and how much better those smaller boxes fit on a common US army pack saddle frame. I don't have an answer for that question, either.
I agree with you when it comes to being hide bound by regulation, the vast quantities of non-regulation goods coming via the USSC, USCC, sutlers, and those venerable boxes from home was amazing. Of course, those items tend to be time and place specific, and if you ever find out what the US Army did for sundries after abolishing the sutler system circa 1866, let me know.
A Fun Yet Unrelated Condiment Link
Good Hunting!
Chris,
I miss your great interpretive rants on the old FGLHA forum. :cry_smile
Your search for milk and meat biscuits dovetail in the form of Gail Borden, Jr., and these two links from the same website scratch the surface:
Not to be confused with Gail Gordon
Military Uses of the Meat Biscuit
The good news is Googlebooks has at least a half dozen 1850s-1860s primary references to meat biscuits, although not all are from the US. Just do a quick search, and they'll pop up nicely.
Don Smith of TMD provided this non-approved vendor link a while back. Much of their label stock is decidedly post war, so pick and choose carefully, however, their one and two pound cans are reasonably priced:
Victor Trading
There is an allegedly immediately postwar Van Camp's "Pork and Beans in Tomato Sauce" label on a CW reenactor label site along with the usual common labels for boot black, matches, etc. I've cleared out a few dozen product label links lately, but you may find that site with a quick search, and the link has been posted on this forum a few dozen times.
Don't rule out a phone call to John Maki of Maki's Boxes, either. His wealth of CW era packaging knowledge most likely extends into the immediate post war era, too. While on the subject of old reliables, re-examine the rations sections of Kautz, as it is an 1865 publication that explains far more than just the bacon, coffee, and melado in the tables we normally use.
Random comments about hardtack in smaller boxes have encouraged head scratching for years. What I cannot determine is whether those smaller boxes were factory issue with the hardtack, or simply hardbread acquired in smaller quantities from a ration breakdown point....the same way cardboard boxes were used for a later generation. If you'll do a quick and dirty experiment sometime, fill a common CW era tomato or peach can box with crackers, and note how close this comes to the "3 or 4 rations," and how much better those smaller boxes fit on a common US army pack saddle frame. I don't have an answer for that question, either.
I agree with you when it comes to being hide bound by regulation, the vast quantities of non-regulation goods coming via the USSC, USCC, sutlers, and those venerable boxes from home was amazing. Of course, those items tend to be time and place specific, and if you ever find out what the US Army did for sundries after abolishing the sutler system circa 1866, let me know.
A Fun Yet Unrelated Condiment Link
Good Hunting!
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