The Loose Association of Wargamers

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

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.

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.

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

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).

NORM - monkey fur, waddya reckon?

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

To even imagine one way is an atrocity!

Monkeys on the other hand. Hmmmmmmmm!