Bear skin

[ochoin]

Admittedly, the only "bears" I am familiar with are the koala-kind.
But, as a Horse & Musket gamer, I've painted a few bearskins the years.

Flat black, in the old days now I'm painting a hussar officer with a red-brown, washed with sepia version.
So where did all the bearskins used in military head gear come from? I've seen Black Bears in Canada: they're not that black.
Why didn't European armies wear white- ie Polar bear- skin hats?

Brown versus Black?

Lots of questions from someone who barely knows much about the issue.

donald

[BaronVonWreckedoften]

One thing you notice about surviving bearskin caps is how "light brown" they are; I assume this is a combination of age and a 200+ years absence of "bulling" that has allowed the natural colour to come through.

Polar bear pelts were an absolute arse-fuck to obtain - mainly they were acquired via Russia (as they were the only people daft/drunk enough to enter the Arctic Circle to hunt them). Catherine the Great sent a load of them to George III as a gift and they ended up adorning the heads of the 3rd Foot Guards' drummers and fifers after 1770; another bunch (not from the same gift, despite what is often said) ended up being used to outfit the entire grenadier company of the 40th Foot in the AWI-era. So they were used, but had sufficient rarity value/price tags to be too expensive/high quality for the armed forces.

[grizzlymc]

Probably blacked with lamp black and grease. They have a sheen, but other than a bit of highlighting in mid-dark grey, if you are going brown, make it very dark. And many were other fur, like sealskin.

[grizzlymc]

Of course trade in bear skin is inhuman and should be punishable by death.

[BaronVonWreckedoften]

That's why I never wear bearskin when I'm trading.

Other furs were available - after the loss of Canada, the French started wearing goatskin and even monkey fur (hence the nickname for the red patch with the white cross - cul de singe).

[grizzlymc]

NORM - monkey fur, waddya reckon?

[Vintage Wargaming]

There’s more than one way to skin a bear.

[grizzlymc]

To even imagine one way is an atrocity!

Monkeys on the other hand. Hmmmmmmmm!