New Blog

From time to time in this blog, I've told you that I'm an illustrator, but now you can see my artwork from past projects at my new blog, David W. Rickman, Illustrator and Historian.

 You can find that blog here.  http://dwrillustrator.blogspot.com.  I hope you like it.

.

A Journey into History

My wife and I returned last week from more than a month spent mostly in England, ending with several days in Iceland.  The main purpose of our trip was research, but there were opportunities to visit with friends and to be tourists.  It was a wonderful time, really a journey into history.

A.

For those of us who love history, travel is vital.  I’m probably not alone in sometimes forgetting this.  Our immediate projects demand our attention.  With everyday familiarity, the reminders of the past that first inspired us, the historic buildings, monuments, art and artifacts, even the landscape, begin to pall.  Travel can change that.  New lands and new encounters reopen our eyes and hearts to the past that still lives all around us.

B.

I’ve been to England several times but the luxury of spending a month there allowed me to rediscover and appreciate a nation that is both far older in history than my homeland, but also every bit as much a part of today's world.  The modern, comfortable archives, libraries and museums in which I spent so much time are doorways allowing me and my fellow scholars easy access to the past.

C.

My wife and I were in England researching 19^th century printed cotton fabrics.  Britain was once the leading manufacturer and exporter of these.  Ironically, these fabrics relate directly to my current project – a history of the clothing worn in California during the Mexican and early American eras (1822 – 1860). 

D.

I also took the opportunity to research a completely different subject, the clothing issued to Royal Navy seamen from the 1690s to 1740s.  This topic is related to something I’ve written about and published – how did pirates really dress and where did we get our ideas about pirate garb?  I hope to do more with this subject, which I'll discuss in a later post.

E.

It was during this time in England that I realized how happy I am to be part of a community of scholarship that is not only united by the love of historical research and knowledge, but that is open to everyone.  At institutions such as the National Archives and British Library, I was surrounded by people of every sort: male, female, young and old, from every nation.  Each of us was on our personal quest and doing real research – the kind you cannot do on the Internet – by handling original documents.

F.

When I wasn’t doing research, I visited historic sites and museums.  At 17^th century Bolsover Castle we saw a performance of early dressage.

G.

The royal palace of Hampton Court, in London, offered some of the best living history interpretation I’ve ever seen.  It was performed by a professional company, Past Pleasures, Ltd. http://pastpleasures.co.uk.   I was deeply impressed to see skilled actors, beautifully costumed, engage in partly-scripted and partly-improvised scenarios that not only examined real historical issues, but involved the visitors and invited them to join in the conversation.  

H.

I.

A weekend spent in Berkhamsted, a town north of London, introduced us to a community whose history stretches back at least as far as 1066, for this was where William the Conqueror received the surrender of England after the Battle of Hastings.  Close to the train station stand the ruins of a Norman moat-and-bailey castle that once welcomed Thomas (later Saint Thomas) Beckett, Edward the Black Prince and the poet, Geoffrey Chaucer, among many others, as visitors. 

J.

And it was in the museums of Manchester and London where I met so many old “friends” – art and artifacts that I had known previously only through photographs.  I also made many new acquaintences.

K.

Our journey concluded with a few days visiting friends in Iceland – a country unlike any other I’ve seen.  Founded by Norse voyagers more than a thousand years ago, reminders of the vikings are always near at hand.  Travels through volcanic landscapes, visits to historic sites and museums and the sight of horses and sheep much like those of the early Icelanders filled me with wonder and the deep desire to return and discover more.

Images:

*Unless otherwise noted, I took the photo.

A. The view from the National Portrait Gallery, London, across to Trafalgar Square with Big Ben in the distance.

B. The new British Library with the Edwardian-era St. Pancras Hotel towers in the background.

C. Swatches of British printed cotton fabric from the first half of the 19^th century.

D. This Players cigarette card from the 1930s reconstructs the dress of an early English seaman.  It’s based on the same 1706 Admiralty document I studied at the British Archives in London.  Thanks to Terry Hooker and the Military Historians Archives Unit on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/348080815241365/

E. Researcher examines an early manuscript at the National Archives at Kew. Internet photo.

F. Photo I took at Bolsover Castle of a rider in historical dress.  With thanks to Alan Larsen

G. Historical interpreters at Hampton Court perform a scenario about the reign of George I.

H. The ruins of the Norman moat-and-bailey castle at Berkhamsted.  From the English Heritage website:  https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/berkhamsted-castle/

I. An artist’s reconstruction of the the castle at Berkhamsted.  From the Berkhamsted Local History & Museum Society website: http://www.berkhamsted-castle.org.uk

J. Work by Ford Maddox Brown, 1852-1865. From the Manchester Art Gallery website: http://www.manchestergalleries.org

K. Þingvellir (Thingvedlr) on a gloomy day.  This was the site of Iceland’s parliament from 930 CE to 1798.
 

When Geeks Make Movies

 A.

I'm in England now, so it seems appropriate to mention the fact that some of the best historical films ever, at least because of their production design, were made here in the 1960s and 1970s.  Though the word "geek" once meant a carnival sideshow performer who did disgusting things with animals, it now means (at least in the United States) someone with a lot of interest in and esoteric knowledge of a particular subject.  I mention this because the young men who made these films were definitely history geeks.

In a recent post, I stated that those of us who love history have a complicated relationship with the entertainment industry when it makes movies and television shows with historical themes.  On the one hand, we long to see the past we love and study brought to life in a medium that has no equal for its ability to create a sense of reality.  On the other hand, movies and television shows are commercial ventures, and few producers or directors are willing to risk the chance that authenticity will get in the way of a project turning a profit when safe clichés have worked well so far.  And so we history lovers suffer on, wishing that geeks like us made movies.  Well, sometimes they do.

B. 

There was a golden era when history geeks made movies, or at least a few of them.  England in the 1960s and 1970s saw the production of at least three low-budget but high-quality historical films that, though not perfect in their production design, nevertheless captured the feel and look of the past far better than most movies with much larger budgets.  I believe these film makers could do this not only because they were young and enthusiastic about history, but because, with low costs and little concern for profits, mostly they had only themselves to please.

Three movies that represent this movement well are:

C.

Peter Watkins’ Culloden, about the last battle of the Scottish rising of 1745, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0efUZQANaE 

D.

Kevin Brownlow and Andrew Mollo’s, It Happened Here, an alternate history about the Nazi occupation of England,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkSQ_kzuimE

E.

And Brownlow and Mollo's Winstanley, a story of the Levelers set in England of the 1640s. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qW12-yt2o6A

  

F.

All of these films were made on shoestring budgets and used a grainy, black and white documentary style which was not only cheap but, because they were made for a generation used to watching movie newsreels and early black and white television, lent believability.  

G.

Peter Watkins was 29 years old when his Culloden was first broadcast on the BBC.  Kevin Brownlow and Andrew Mollo were teenage friends and largely self-taught film makers who took eight years to complete It Happened Here.  Brownlow, who was 28 when this film was released, later went on to become a respected film historian and film editor, known especially for helping to restore Abel Gance's silent epic, Napoléon [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoléon_(1927_film)].  And Mollo, who was 26 at that time, became a noted military historian and consultant, for example, on the German film about Adolf Hitler's last days, Der Untergang (Downfall) [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downfall_(2004_film)]. 

H.

These three films' focus on visual authenticity were in keeping with the time and place in which they were made.  England in the late-1950s through the 1970s was going through something of an antiquarian renaissance.  From authenticity-friendly children's magazines like Look and Learn (which helped launch the careers of illustrators such as Angus McBride, Richard Hook, and Ron and Gerry Embleton), to BBC productions such as The First Churchills and The Pallisers, the public of Great Britain came to expect a far higher standard of historical accuracy in their films and television than Americans of that same era.  

 I.

I should mention one reservation I have about these productions.  Their accuracy was often helped by using actual historical artifacts.  The German uniforms and gear in It Happened Here, for example, were mostly real, and some of the English Civil War arms and armor in Winstanley are said to have been quite genuine antiques lent by the Tower of London Armouries.  If true, such a loan would be unthinkable today. 

J.

Despite Hollywood's shortcomings these days, I believe there is a growing public interest in accurate recreations of the past in film and television.  Just look at the popularity of historical reenactments and living history in this country, many of whose participants complain long and bitterly about the media's usually poor historical productions.  And with the availability of remarkably low cost and sophisticated video, audio and editing equipment, my question for today's history geeks is, of course, "Why don't you make your own films?"

K.

L.

Already, we see some fan-made films spun off from the original Star Trek and Lord of the Rings series that are visually quite impressive.  

M.

Though a number of small film and video projects with historical themes have also been made in recent years that are often well-written, acted and filmed, yet I've been very disappointed with their production designs.  I believe that this is because these films simply aren't made by history geeks and, apparently, their producers and directors haven't even bothered to use them as consultants.

N.

But why shouldn't really knowledgeable and talented geeks choose small but compelling themes, such as the final days of the pirate Blackbeard or the tale of a village caught up in the American Revolution? Following the Watkins-Brownlow-Mollo model,  it's still possible to create high-quality but low-budgeted films that are not only artistically good, but will also make fellow geeks like me proud and show Hollywood how it can be done.

Images. 

A., D., and G. are from It Happened Here.

B., C., and F. are from Culloden.

E., H., and J. are from Winstanley.

K. A publicity still from the official website of the Lord of the Rings fan film, Born of Hope: http://www.bornofhope.com/gallery.html

L. Publicity still from the official website of the fan-supported series, Star Trek Continues:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1518812/

M. Though at first glance these two photos from the 2010 production of Meek's Cutoff (set on the Oregon Trail in 1845) look pretty good, especially the women's large sun bonnets and the scout's undecorated buckskins, it's the second glance that disappoints.  The women wear shapeless cotton dresses, when wool or linsey-woolsey dresses, properly fitted and worn over stays would have been better.  Cooking over an open campfire in a cotton dress was simply a death wish.  The men's shirts often open completely in front, at a time when pullover shirts were the rule.  The scout's buckskins are too clean; they should be dark and shiny with dried blood and grease.  He wears boots instead of moccasins.  And so on.  Meek's Cutoff [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1518812/]. 
N. The level of authenticity seen in a small number of today's reenactors and living history enthusiasts could make new geek-driven historical films possible. Seen here, the Lexington Training Band, from their website: http://www.lexingtonminutemen.com