Tintype Bib W/ Anchor ?

Hello,

As always when I get stuck on a photo, I've come to you wonderful knowledgable people!

I purchased this one recently and have been scouring the internet.

Can't find any "uniform" like this. So any help would be appreciated!

Warm Regards & Thank you as always!

-Scantic

 

September 19th (every year)
is International Talk Like A Pirate Day!

http://maritimealoft.weebly.com/the-marks-of-a-sailor.html

 

Pirate eh? lol

I thought Sailor, but what type of sailor?

I honestly can't find any sort of "bib" like this...

 

I think Scoutshouse was suggesting that the bib-type shirt was common attire in sailors.

What I wonder about is that hat in the foreground. Doesn't look very sailor-ish to me.

 

I was trying to work that anchor in...and the British costume is more flowing; the hat works, too.

But, honestly, it looks more Western to me and he does look like an American cowboy of the Plains.

Obscurely, the anchor is a symbol of Christianity in the martyr St. Cement tied to an anchor to drown.

But people didn't wear emblems like that without good reason, unlike us with our t-shirts and baseball caps, lol.

View attachment 14222

 

I was trying to work that anchor in...and the British costume is more flowing; the hat works, too.

But, honestly, it looks more Western to me and he does look like an American cowboy of the Plains.

Obscurely, the anchor is a symbol of Christianity in the martyr St. Cement tied to an anchor to drown.

But people didn't wear emblems like that without good reason, unlike us with our t-shirts and baseball caps, lol.
[ATT]

 

Sorry
Tried to edit attachment to preview image
But made some dupes, somehow

 

Could certainly be Western.... "Billy the Kid" wore something similar in regards to the bib. So it could have nothing to do with sailing haha

 

Scout, you may be right on this being a western bib front shirt. There is speculation that Billy the Kid was wearing a bid front shirt with an anchor in that bedraggled/disheveled tin-type of him.

Scroll a good 2/3rds of the way down the following page to the section "Photo At a Glance" - 3rd sentence:
http://www.truewestmagazine.com/jco...history-features/4186-the-holy-grail-for-sale

2nd reply:
http://shootists.websitetoolbox.com/post/billy-the-kids-shirt-421679

The following site, True West, presumably has a page/article on "Billy the Kid's Fireman Shirt" which presumably had an anchor on the bib; however, the site is "under maintenance." Here is a little bit I could glean when Googled: "Oct 16, 2013 - October 16, 2013 Worked this morning on the Kid's bibbed shirt. Sent up ... We can see the piping on Billy's fireman shirt clearly in the tintype:."
https://www.google.com/search?q=Bil...blogs%2Fbilly-the-kid-s-fireman-shirt;320;320

http://truewest.ning.com/profiles/blogs/billy-the-kid-s-fireman-shirt

These bib/shield front shirts were also called firemen shirts, etc. They were popular in the Victorian age with firemen, militia, bands and westerners.

--- Susan

 

Ooops, I should have refreshed the reply before posting. I see Scantic beat me to Billy the Kid. I was Googling, etc. when Scantic posted.

--- Susan

 

Haha it was good you didn't refresh! You have much nicer links and info than I posted! Thank you!!!

 

Then there is a possibility it was a sport team uniform shirt. Here is am 1887 baseball team in the San Diego area with bib/shield front shirts:

http://www.sandiegohistory.org/collections/sports/images/10521.jpg

 

I was also considering that, but I figured he'd have some sort of baseball accessory if he was an athlete.

Looking at the hat and the pants, maybe Confederate Navy?

 

I have seen that threaded design on boleros too, I can't remember the name of that design work to save my life?

 

Wow
Incredible amount of scrutiny
I didn't see a final conclusion on what the anchor signifies...
Maybe it was a gangsta emblem!
Seems to signify something
If your guy wore the same symbol, really interesting!

 

That's why I had to have it! It came in a lot, which the majority of the other photos were "meh" at best lol But I wanted this one so I could try to figure out what he was. They suggested he was just a sailor, but I don't know if that's then end of the story

 

>Seems to signify something<

This type of anchor is an entwined anchor also known as a "foul or fouled anchor" by the US and British navies. The anchor itself has been a symbol of hope. An anchor is on the state flag of Rhode Island. An entwined anchor I believe represents stability. The anchor also has Christian symbolism.

"The anchor as a symbol of real and spiritual commitment and steadfastness goes back at least to Biblical times. As Hebrews 6:19 reads: 'Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast.' The anchor as a symbol of Christian belief and commitment is also reflected in the great 19th-century hymn 'Will Your Anchor Hold in the Storms of Life?’ "

--- Susan

 

Cool!
I'd take a much closer look at those "meh" pictures!
I know that shirt was an American staple, not hard to come by, but wonder how these symbols were chosen and sewn, and by whom...
Sears Catalog may have carried them later. If they did, there would be some design name to chose from. That might provide a clue.
Fascinating.

 

What is MEH?????

 

"Meh" = "so so", or "not too exciting".