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“FAIR WEATHER CHRISTIAN” CARTRIDGE BELT –
FRONTIER MADE FOR 36 .45 CALIBER CARBINE AND RIFLE
CARTRIDGES – EXCELLENT CONDITION – OUTSTANDING EARLY
SOLDIER, BUFFALO HUNTER OR PLAINSMAN CARTRIDGE BELT:
These hand-crafted large caliber “Fair Weather
Christian” Cartridge Belts for the .50 and .45 caliber
cartridges are a genuine pleasure to own. While not a
regulation belt which can be compared to a specific
reference sample, each surviving specimen is a unique
product of the individual maker’s talent and ability,
and the general character of these belts and the manner
in which they were fashioned allows them to be easily
identified to the early metallic cartridge period
following the Civil War.
This belt not only speaks of having been “there”, it was
also acquired from the research collection of R. Stephen
Dorsey, the author of American Military and Naval
Belts, 1812-1902. When Dorsey sold this belt, he
wrote a letter of provenance which will accompany the
sale of this belt. In the text of the letter he notes
that the cloth belts were less prone to form verdigris
from exposure to the copper cartridge cases, a feature
the army would embrace when they designed the Model 1876
Prairie Belt, and later adopted the woven Mills belts.
He also notes that these cloth Fair Weather Christian
Belts are far rarer than the leather specimens due to
the cloth’s susceptibility to deterioration and the
extreme wear experienced on the frontier resulted in
them being used to destruction.
This belt has
no specific characteristics which identify it as a
soldier made or used belt, however as the soldiers and
civilians alike availed themselves of the materials
present on the frontier - in this case, scrap bed
mattress ticking and leather - this belt was no doubt
worn by a trooper, a buffalo hunter, or plainsman to
carry their .45 caliber rifle or carbine.
Measuring 38 ¾”
long. Including the 10 ½” leather tongue, the belt body
is fashioned from a single piece of canvas, folded so as
create two layers with the stitched seam along the
center of the inside face of the belt.
The cartridge
loops are formed from two strips of striped mattress
ticking. Both pieces of ticking are folded double and
stitched along a seam running the length of the belt and
positioned against the body of the belt. One strip,
with the stripes oriented parallel to the body of the
belt, forms 29 cartridge loops. The second strip, with
the stripes oriented perpendicular to the body of the
belt, forms the remaining seven cartridge loops. All of
the loops are intact, are full form, and are still held
securely in place by the stitching.
The leather
tongue and the period iron roller buckle are stitched to
the canvas body and both are secure and in very good
condition.
All the features of
this belt indicate that it most certainly saw service on
the frontier during the early Indian Wars. The
scarcity of these Fair Weather Christian belts cannot be
overstated as most did not survive the hard use to which
they were exposed, and the few that do remain in private
collections normally move from one owner to the next on
the infrequent occasions when they are offered for sale,
almost never appearing on the open market. Whether
displayed with an early Indian War soldier’s weapons and
accoutrements, or a Sharps or Remington single shot
rifle and other items from a buffalo hunter’s outfit,
this belt will make an important addition to your
collection. SOLD
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