The Prize of the Silver Club & Proclamation, Edinburgh

“The Prize of the Silver Club” & "Proclamation, Edinburgh"
ARTIST: David Allan
LOCATION: NATIONAL GALLERies Scotland

Special Thanks to Don Hagist (http://redcoat76.blogspot.com/)


This installment of British Military Musicians showcases a pair of similar pieces by Scottish artist David Allan. Not only do we get to see the Scottish national sport of golf play a part, but we will witness continuity between art and artifact.

First, let's look at Allan's 1787 "Prize of the Silver Club":

According to the National Library of Scotland:

"David Allan's drawing shows the Silver Club being paraded ceremonially through the streets to Leith. The prize was for a new annual golf competition on Leith Links, organised by a number of prominent golfers. These men later became the Company of Gentlemen Golfers – the world's first golf club. What the artist calls 'the Silver Golf' is the Silver Club with silver golf balls attached to it. A new ball, with the winner's name on it, was added to the club every year. The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers continues the tradition to this day."(Source: http://digital.nls.uk/golf-in-scotland/rules/silver-club-prize.html)

In the above watercolour, the drummers wear typical military style small clothes (white breeches, stockings, waistcoat and shirt; black shoes; cocked hat with black cockade and trim) although it is not yet clear if they are indeed military drummers. The coat seems distinctly military in nature as it is a red coat with blue facings (indicating a royal regiment), shoulder wings, and blue and white lace on the sleeves. While the painting is not detailed enough to see if there is lace around the lapel and cuff buttonholes, it stands to reason that there would be. Our subjects wear neck belts made of blue cloth from which to carry their drums. The drums have a front design of a shield/crest flanked by a human figure at left and a horse or other similar animal at right. A scroll lies under the crest.

Now let's take a look at Allan's "Proclamation, Edinburgh":

The drummers in this watercolour differ only by their white hat trim, shoulder belts, and the presence of black half-gaiters. The design on the drum shell is identical to the first.

Now for the artifacts! 

We history buffs are lucky to have a beautifully preserved drum and drummer's coat attributed to the Old Town Guard of Edinburgh. The red coat is faced in blue cloth and has blue and white drummer's lace on the sleeve seams, shoulder wings, and looping the buttonholes. The drum's front has a field of blue with the traditional crest of the town of Edinburgh painted over it.

Detail of the drummer's coat.

Here is a closer photo to see the detail of the painting on the drum. The castle within the shield represents the Edinburgh Castle on the Castle Rock. Flanking the shield on the Edinburgh coat of arms on this drum are a maiden and a rampant doe.

http://www.nms.ac.uk/collections/details.php?item_id=26999&terms=*World%20Cultures*&key=exhibition.title&offset=0

And a close up of the drum in the watercolours

From the above artwork and artifacts, we can be certain that Mr. David Allan created a respectable representation of drummers belonging to the Edinburgh Old Town Guard. We could also conclude - but without 100% certainty - that the drummers in the first painting, "Prize of the Silver Club", were very likely "borrowed" from this local volunteer regiment for the occasion of parading the silver club through the streets.

In conclusion, this opportunity to view a side-by-side comparison of the parallels between artwork and known artifacts dating to a specific regiment at a specific time has been a true joy for me. I hope you have enjoyed reading it.

The Absent Father, John Jeffryes

"The Absent Father, or, The Sorrows of War", John Jeffryes 1797
"Foot Guards Drummer", William R. Bigg, c. 1780s-90s
Artist: William R. Bigg
Location: Unavailable


This installment comes by way of Don Hagist, noted British soldier researcher. His blog can be found at http://redcoat76.blogspot.com/

Here we have a drummer of one of the regiments of Foot Guards. The 3rd Reg't of Foot Guards is typically depicted in a white coat with blue facings, and a white fur cap, so this is a drummer of either the 1st Regiment or 2nd (Coldstream) Reg't. Judging from the shape of the buttonhole "bastion" style loops on the pockets, this is probably a drummer of the 1st Reg't of Foot Guards. 

We know that the drummer's lace for the 1st Foot Guards consists of a white base with blue fleur-de-lys. Although it's difficult to make out, and a cleaner version of this is certainly needed, the lace on this fellow's coat seems to fit the bill. His cuffs have no buttons or lace and his lapels seem rather sparse, too. The collar is a sort of stand-up style. It's not quite conforming to the 1768 Clothing Warrant, nor is it from the Napoleonic era. Except for the lapels and cuffs, the coat is elaborately laced, including lace placed along the edges of the skirts and pockets and vertically on the coat body. There are 6 sleeve darts that point upward, whereas the style for Guards regiments tend to be depicted downward.

The bearskin cap on this drummer is a little unusual in that it almost seems to be made of a leather crown with only the front plate being covered in fur and sporting a standard japanned white metal plate. Also unusual about the cap is the white metal drum insignia on the left side of the cap. These are common embellishments, but are usually found on the rear of the cap. His dark hair is plaited and turned up into his cap.

Unfortunately, the artist did not show this drummer's instrument, but there are a few other important details bout his dress that bear mentioning: He wears a sword hanging from a rather wide shoulder belt (the 1768 Clothing Warrant mandated a 2" width) and he carries on his back a dark knapsack. Because the photo is not completely clear, it may be painted canvas or brown fur, but it appears to me to be the "double envelope" style. Our drummer's shirt sports neck ruffles that he has let show as if he is dressed for parade or some other formal occasion. Resting at his left hip is a walking stick or cane.

Another piece by a different artist shows a nearly identical uniform on the drummer. This version is by John Jeffryes (also seen as Jeffreys) in 1797, currently housed in the Anne S. K. Brown Military Collection at Brown University. http://library.brown.edu/cds/catalog/catalog.php?verb=render&id=1165437590984375

In this version we can clearly see that the crown of the bearskin cap is red. This is very similar to the cap in a painting from 30 years earlier, John Collett's "The Recruiting Sergeant", 1767. The full painting and the detail of the drummer are below.

Many thanks to Don Hagist for providing the images for this edition.