The Showman with a Big Hat

 

This is not a practical hat.
For one thing it has no brim
with only fuzzy fur to shield

the eyes from the sun.
It might keep the head warm,
but the ears?

Not so much.

It's also ridiculously top heavy
necessitating a strong chin strap
that forces the wearer to maintain
perfect posture at all times.

What happens if you drop something?

I suppose it is large enough
to stow a hot lunch or thermos of tea
inside its extra insulated space.
But in summer maybe a block of ice
would be more appropriate.

Honestly, who would chose to wear such a thing
unless you were paid good money to do so?

The answer is someone who wants
to be the center of attention.

And that would be a man
who was proud to wear
such a towering bearskin hat
and lead a marching band.

He usually carried a big stick, too.

Today I present 
a small selection of
anonymous drum majors.
Each one wearing an impressive bearskin. 

The position of Drum Major in a military marching band has a long history that goes back to the at least the 17th century and probably earlier. Initially a drum major's duties were for leading and maintaining the drum and bugle units that military commanders used to communicate orders to soldiers on the battlefield. In the early 19th century as military wind bands became larger and marching became an important element of military displays, the drum major acquired a new status as the prestigious leader of a band when it was on parade. That required a special uniform with extra flashy equipment.  

In earlier times no army could surpass the British Army for military pageantry and extravagant livery. The bearskin worn by this Drum Major  of the 2nd Scots Guard is typical of the ceremonial dress headgear worn by soldiers in various British regiments. The Scots Guard are one of the five Foot Guards regiments in the Household Division. They and the Grenadier Guards, Coldstream Guards, Irish Guards and Welsh Guards are entrusted with guarding the British monarch and performing ceremonial service in London. All the regiments have bands that wear similar uniforms topped off by a tall bearskin. 

This drum major of the Scots Guard appeared on a colorful tourist's postcard sent from London to Paris on 29 September 1908 during the reign of King Edward VII. It was addressed to Monsieur Victor, Le Chef Plongeur, the chief dishwasher at the Hotel du Louvre in Paris. Built in 1855, the Hotel du Louvre was the first luxury hotel in Paris. It had 700 guestrooms with a staff of 1,250 and became renowned for its French and international cuisine that earned it a five-star rating. I think to be a chief bottlewasher there was no joke. 

Recently, I acquired a photo postcard of the Band of the Scots Guards performing on a large plaza. The drum major is not in the picture but the bandsmen are all decked out in full dress uniforms with tall bearskins. The postcard was never mailed but the printed instructions on the left side of the divided back, "For Inland Postage Only, This Space May Be Used For Communication" is the form used in postcards from 1902-1906 when messages were first permitted on the back of postcards sent to addresses within Britain but not for places outside the United Kingdom. 

I thought the location of this photo might be the famous Horse Guards Parade in London, but I've been unable to verify it and can't find a vintage photo that matches. When I first visited London in the 80s it was at the end of May when her majesty Queen Elizabeth traditionally celebrated her "official" birthday. This ceremonial event is called Trooping the Colour when all the regiments and bands of the Household Division perform en mass at the Horse Guards Parade near Buckingham Palace. I managed to get a bleacher seat and watched this amazing spectacle which included her majesty riding her horse along with various members of the royal family. 

For an impressionable young American like myself it was like the biggest football halftime show multiplied by 10. What I remember most is that as thousands of soldiers and bandsmen marched in perfect straight step, shod in shiny black shoes with very thick soles, they never avoided the poop left behind by the hundreds of horses that preceded their part of the pageant. During the remainder of this event flocks of London pigeons descended on the parade grounds and consumed the horse refuse so that by the end of the show the ground was perfectly clean again. 

For state ceremonies a drum major of a royal British regimental band does not wear a red coat and bearskin but instead dons a splendid tunic of gold and red with white leggings and a plain black hat, not unlike an American baseball cap. This postcard shows the Drum Major of the Grenadier Guards in Review Order.  [The braided gold trim on the tunic is called a "galloon" or sometime "galon", a useful material to make any garment fancier. The satin strip on men's formal  black trouser legs are also a type of galloon.] 

This postcard was sent from London to a young lady in Switzerland. The postmark shows 2 AM on December 6, but the year is smudged. Sometime in 190_?, I think. A nice touch is that the writer adds an upside down comment at the top. "Voi'la le Tambour Major de la Garde des Grenadiere Regiment Royal."  Ironically the British Grenadier Guards adopted the bearskin hat style for their uniforms from the French Imperial Guard after their victory over Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.

This cabinet card photograph of a drum major in a tall bearskin is unmarked and well worn,  but I'm pretty certain it is of American origin despite the painted backdrop of a classical landscape with palm trees, ferns and ornamental plinths. His mace is likely a standard size somewhere between 52 to 58 inches long. His height is 20% more than the length of his mace so he is about 5 feet 7 inches. But his bearskin hat makes him look 6 feet 6 inches tall!

His uniform has lots of the traditional military style accoutrements like frilled epaulets, braided cords, and three rows of buttons, but I don't believe he is from a regular army band. There are a couple of ribbons pinned to his tunic that could be souvenirs of a recent special event, perhaps a political rally or civic holiday, but the camera didn't have the best focus to make out the words. He could be in the uniform of a state militia band but in the 19th century there were no consistent fashions to place him in any unit. My best guess judging from the card and his mustache is that the photo was taken in the 1880s or early 1890s.

My next drum major comes from a small ferrotype about 55mm x 85mm. This "tintype" was a inexpensive photograph that was popular from around 1865 to 1885. Its photographic method used camera that often picked up very fine detail but since it was preserved only on this little rectangle of sheet metal it meant that no duplicates could be made. The image often came out like this one with very dark contrast that gave the impression the photo was taken at night. When photographers began using glass plates to record a negative, the photos were such a great improvement that tintypes became an obsolete medium. 

Fortunately with the aid of modern computers and scanners, the contrast of a ferrotype can be restored to more acceptable level. Here is my improvement.

The way a ferrotype "tin" is positioned behind a camera lens means it records light just like a mirror does. The image is not really true to life but reversed. If you look at this drum major's tunic buttons you can see his coat's button seam edge is on his left which is opposite from how a man's buttons should be. With digital software it requires only a click and the whole image is flipped horizonal and we can then see the drum major in his true orientation.

This drum major's uniform is very similar to the previous man. The tunic has the frilled epaulets and aiguillette cords, but is longer and only has one row of buttons. Like the other bearskin this drum major's hat also has a frilled badge attached to front. I think this drum major's mace is longer, maybe 58 inches, which would make him about 6 feet tall without hat, and 7 feet with bearskin.

Most ferrotype photos are unmarked unless they are fortunate to have been preserved in the paper envelopes that came from the photographer. This photo was not so lucky but there is a message scratched in the black paint on the back of the photo.

 This is a show 
 man 

The bearskin hat remains a standard feature of formal ceremonial military uniforms in many countries. Beside Britain, the bearskin is worn by soldiers in guard regiments of 13 other nations. It weighs about 2 kilograms (4.4 lbs) and is about 14 to 18 inches tall. It is made from a single bearskin, usually from a female North American black bear, which has thicker, longer fur but is usually brown. This skin is then died black to make into a hat. Recent fashion campaigns rejecting animal furs have forced many military departments to find artificial replacements for bearskin. The British Army has yet to adopt one. 

Success in show biz often depends on getting the best costumes.

***

No one acquires a drum major's skill
without a lot of practice and drill.
This video was taken in April 2023 and is titled 

Drum Major Drill for Trooping the Colour - Wellington barracks.

The four drum majors are

Senior Drum Major Gareth Chambers 

Drum Major Chris Rees

Drum Major Stu Liang

Drum Major Scott Fitzgeral.
The bass drummer is unnamed. 

***

Here is video of  the Band of the Scots Guard 
changing the guard on 5/9/2021.
I like it because near the start (0:22)
the camera is positioned directly
in front of the band and the drum major.
Notice that the drum major carries a sword as well as a mace.

***

Here is a short video of 
Trooping The Colour in 2022
with Senior Drum Major Gareth Chambers
giving the commands. 

It's very like the event I saw forty+ years ago.
Anyone who can perform in front of royalty
and thousands of loyal spectators
ordering a company of hundreds of soldiers
who need to turn exactly on the mark
has my greatest admiration.
That's a true measure of a show man.

***

Sharp-eyed readers
may have spotted the animal 
in the photo of the Scots Guard band.
At first I was unsure if it was a dog. or a goat,
or maybe just a blur of motion.

It is, in fact, the hind view of a dog,
something I'm very familiar with as an owner of two dogs.
Whether this dog was the band's mascot
is a detail lost in history.
I bet he could sing along with them. 
 

This is my contribution to Sepia Saturday

where no one gets their signals crossed this weekend.