Quantcast
Channel: Clerk of the Fur Trade
Browsing latest articles
Browse All 25 View Live

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

What this blanket cost . . . stanza the third

Having taken the 2 1/2 point blanket as our basis and accounting the cost in terms of £ Halifax "money of account" reckoned in Canada (to be compared to the £ Sterling), let's take a look at what the...

View Article



What this blanket cost . . . and the beat goes on

Having established the wholesale price of 5s (five shillings) for a single blanket, what would the actual cost be, say in Grand Portage, Fond du Lac, Athabasca, and so on.As any business knows, the...

View Article

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Fish nets, fish nets, roly poly fish nets . . .

As promised, a couple of photos of the completed fishnet.It ended up much longer than expected.The whole net ended up about 16' long. I would like to have made it wider, but to be honest, I was really...

View Article

What this blanket cost . . . the final stanza, more or less

More than a month has passed since my last post, and people were beginning to wonder whether starvation or some other calamity might have befallen this Post. Fear not, just life intruding.Though no...

View Article

Blankets, pelts, and costs: a clarification

I recently received an email requesting more information and a clarification on my previous posts. I thought it might be helpful to post my reply here, also, in case I was unclear or others might...

View Article


Blankets, one more time

Since there was a question about sizes, this page about Point Blankets is a good, quick reference, especially if you can't get a hold of other books. Remember to double the length indicated to derive...

View Article

Pointed question

I received a recent inquiry regarding the use of "points" on blankets and whether they related to weight or thickness of the blanket. I thought the reply might be of use to you:Blankets, from the...

View Article

Back to the countinghouse

After a month hiatus, the Clerk returns. Lest you should think your humble Clerk has been lacking in industry, this past month has been occupied with travel to Grand Portage to participate in the...

View Article


Ink takes a powder

And so another month has passed; how time flies and how fleeting the enterprises and intentions of man . . .In the while, though, amongst life's other endeavors your correspondent has found time to...

View Article


Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

A friend reaches the final portage

Most of his friends and acquaintances will have undoubtedly received the news in other forums, but I must also comment here, though I have been remiss in timely postings on other matters.Mike Ameling,...

View Article

North American Voyageurs Council Fall Gathering

Some of you are already acquainted with NAVC, but for those that are not here is a look at how history interpreters learn and have fun in the Upper Midwestern US:NAVC Fall Gathering photo galleryEnjoy.

View Article

Putting electronic quill to electronic laid paper

I find myself apparently as constant a correspondent by this means as I was consistent with letter and thank-you writing in my youth. In other words, not so much. I beg your pardon for my lack, though...

View Article

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Ink Batches

Amazingly, I have been able to post twice in one month! I need to restrain myself lest expectations rise to unattainable heights.A new batch of ink is completed and is awaiting the completion of the...

View Article


Where have all the gall nuts gone?

 . . . long time passing . . .A scrivener song by Pierre Seeger? Well, undoubtedly not, but an anthem for me this season nonetheless.Oak gall nuts seem to be missing in action this summer, at least in...

View Article

Gall nuts, gall nuts, who's got the gall nuts?

This is the first in a flurry of posts; I probably should space them out but I've got the time over the long weekend so here goes:Gall nuts are starting to appear. Apparently, the weather or something...

View Article


Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Grand Portage revisited, pt 1

This year's trip to Grand Portage started earlier than usual, picking up Gene Tisdal, Henri, at the Duluth airport before arriving late at night, well early in the morning, in the 18th century of Lake...

View Article

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Grand Portage revisited, pt 2 Punch and friends

Early one evening during Rendezvous week at Grand Portage, Mr Punch made his appearance. No modern or PC character he, this was the 18th century antagonist, the street theater Punch of Everyman.The...

View Article


Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

One post to another

Not much to report of late since moving from one event to another over the past 8 months has meant equipment repair and preparation, not to mention also working.Last weekend was the Fall Gathering at...

View Article

North American Voyageurs Council Fall Gathering

We're just a month away from one of the country's best educational programs for reenactors and interpreters, especially those involved with the fur trade of North America.The North American Voyageurs...

View Article

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

North American Voyageurs Council Fall Gathering a month away

The North America Voyageurs' Council annual Fall Gathering is just a month away. For those of you who have attended, you know the wide range of workshops available, not only on the fur trade but...

View Article

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Eagle River Clerk's Report

The following is an excerpt from the journal kept for the post at Riviere d'Aigle in the fall of the year:Sept. 29 Wednesday Rainy cool weather. Arrived riviere d'Aigle in the late afternoon   as the...

View Article


Some things never change--"hunting the squirrel"

Well, it seems time has passed quickly and over a year has passed since my last post. Life, as they say, intrudes on life.All the raging stampede in the stores this past weekend, not to mention the...

View Article


Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Recreating an 18th Century Punch show

One of the projects crowding my "to-do" list is creating new heads for the characters in my Punch show.Currently, made of non-period materials, I want wooden heads to match the period puppets for my...

View Article

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Recreating Punch articles published

My posting has been so occasional as to be almost non-existent. However, that does not mean I have not been busy. The second part of my article on recreating the 18th century Punch and (originally...

View Article

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Gambling rules from the Journal of the Early Americas article

In case you have not read the latest issue of the "Journal of the Early Americas", I wrote a short article on colonial gambling to complement the cover art. Space did not permit the printing of the...

View Article

Browsing latest articles
Browse All 25 View Live




Latest Images