How they do that?

[tenfed1861]

Folks,
I'm just curious about this.How do the vendosrs know what the original color was?What method do they use to find out abou it?I was just wondering.
Cullen Smith

[dusty27]

Re: How they do that?

Folks,
I'm just curious about this.How do the vendosrs know what the original color was?What method do they use to find out abou it?I was just wondering.
Cullen Smith

Cullen, what are you asking here?

Are you referring to clothing colors? If so, I would think that during their research with original jackets, trousers, etc, they would have noted the colors. Also, recipes for dyes are available in period guides and reference materials.

Hopefully, someone who knows more about this is reading and can help Cullen.

[ElizabethClark]

Re: How they do that?

Mr. Smith, the best vendors do research.

There exists a huge pool of resources original to the era, and a good researcher dives in, sifts, sorts, asks questions, and follows tangents, until the information can be summarized and utilized.

For military things in particular, manufacturing specifications and contracts can be found and used.

Research into the ways colors photograph via period photography methods, or the ways cloth and colors age in different circumstances, also assist the researcher in determining a range of possible "beginnings" for an item; when these are added to the other research, the summary gets ever more sharp.

Any individual can do these same things. A person might do some online research, but a good deal of physical leg-work is needed, visiting archives, repositories, and libraries.

As the goal of the Authentic-Campaigner site is to encourage research and inquiry, you should definitely follow up your own inquiry with a good bit of legwork and research into your question, and post back with your own resources and findings on the topic.

[2ndNHDOC]

Re: How they do that?

I agree with dusty many a tale is told of authentic sutlers spending hours if not days studying original garments. I have also heard of one case(which may just be a story) where an original federal coat or blouse not sure which exactly, was taken apart(eeeeekkkk!!!) :cry_smile so thread could be viewed cross section under a microscope so the true color could be seen without the normal fade. Not that I recommend doing that but good in theory. I believe Nick ************ has a story on his web site about garment study.


Brian Schwatka

[Spinster]

Re: How they do that?

Period dyes fade from a number of factors, the most prominent ones being oxidation, light exposure, and washing. By viewing areas of the garment not as fully exposed to these factors, one can come a lot closer to approximating the original color. Primary areas to view are the interior garment, the hidden portion of pleats, or by carefully opening a seam and viewing the interior.

Analysis is occassionally done by extracting a thread or two from a raw seam edge and viewing under a microscope. It would be unusual for a curator to take apart a whole garment for this sort of analysis.

The difference between the exposed and unexposed areas can be quite startling. We have a modern reproduction dress done in cotton with a period indigo dye method. Its been worn extensively and washed extensively. The interior of the dress and the inside of the pleats are still very close in color to the dark navy of its original color, despite an estimated 150 washings, while the sun-exposed shoulders are almost a silver-white, with only a pale blue undertone.

[Curt Schmidt]

Re: How they do that?

Hallo Kameraden und Kameradinnen!

Thank you all for stepping up and salvaging this potential "flame bait" topic.
This question about "color" is one better suited for other CW fora where newcomers to the Mainstream CW hobby can post and learn the basic basics.

Curt-Heinrich Schmidt
Moderator.