Hau Kola & Aho
Been lurk'in on the forum for some time. Finally got off my backside to sign up and get involved. I'm a Pilgram with a few questions for every thread. Figure I'll start with this one.
Any refrences as to correct bead and quill colors to specific tribes? Want to decorate my buckskins for the western Vous. I just don't want to tic off a Sioux brother with some Crow work. I like my top knot where it is. (though in my later years, it would'nt look as good on a lodgepole.)
Been bead'in for awhile, but would like to make sure my next projects are going to be period/area correct. (1800-1840's in western plains)
Thank's all

check out the Book of Buckskinning volume that has an entire chapter dedicated to pre-1840 beadwork...well written and researched and gives you other places to look/learn

As Mitch noted read the article in Vol8 by Allen Chronister on pre-1850 beadwork.
1) Pre-1840 beadwork has little to distinguish it in color or style from tribe to tribe, The first tribes to establish a recognizable style were the Crow and Cheyenne, but it's mostly post 1845 before it shows up
2) Style was mostly simple bands and blocks of colors
3) The two most common colors were blue in various sahdes from cobalt to gray blue and white. Secondary colors used were: dark green, red, amber(pumpkin or mustard are close), greasy yellow and black
4) Colin Taylor has authored several books on NDN work that includes pre-1840 originals. Other books such as the Arts of Diplomacy include early work collected by L & C and others. These are just a start. Another excellent resources is the art work of Karl Bodmer.
5) Based on the currently known documentation, both written and pictures (i.e Alfred Jacob Miller) mtn men cite little to any bead or quillwork so less is more.
6) The most common size bead used was the pound bead equivalent to out modern 8/0 size bead although sead beads can be documented as well back to the mid-1700's and are listed on many of the RMFT trade lists

Book of Buckskinning Vol III has a chapter on quill work, plus a chapter on beadworking. One of the subsections on Beadworking is titled 'Tribal Differences.'

The chapter Mitch mentions in th BOB series is a good one focused on pre-1850 beadwork. He also has some good stuff in McCloskey and Olsen's recent book which Scurlocks are selling for them. I'm not a beader. Maybe Grey Wolf will see this and answer your questions better than I can, but my understanding is that individual colors are not so much associated with individual tribes as much as components of style.

Sean

Thank's to all for the replies and information. I knew this site would be a wealth of knowledge.
I just got back from the Mountain Man Rendezvous in Pindale, WY. There was a speaker there at the mountain man museum named Michael "Bad Hand" Terry. He is of Seminole decent but has been doing speaking on the plains indians for many moons. He is a fantastic speaker. I had the chance to bend his ear for a little while. So much history that the white eyes don't know about these people. Do a search on him. He's quite accomplished.
Anyway, Thank's again and be well all.

http://art.thewalters.org/view...aspx?id=4486#results

Take a look thorugh the A.J. Miller prints on that site - while they are not "photographic" evidence and as always should be cross refernced to other resources, in general they are very good representations of the clothing worn by the mountain men in the mid to late 1830's.

One fo the more "common" styles of beadwork worn by the trappers (when they wore any at all) is the floral/curvilinear style made famous by the flower beadwork folks the Metis......

Thanks for the link to the Walters Museum, GreyWolf. The Miller prints are amazing close up.

Lobo