This pouch was designed around a historical fantasy involving a young man who served an indenture for his passage to the Americas in the seventeenth century. The wealthy planter to whom this fellow was indentured was in fact a distant relative who not only benefitted from the term of indenture but also increased his land holdings through transportation head rights. The shoulder pouch was a hand me down from the planter and was used with a smoothe bored gun. The procurement of game turned into an enjoyable event for the young man unlike his other mundane tasks and the pouch soon found itself married to the gun and so it remained for generations.
This pouch is intended to represent a professionally made pouch of European origin that saw secondary use as an accompaniment to a firearm in the colonies in the seventeenth century. It incorporates features that hark at least as far back as the medieval period. These features continued through the 17th century as can be seen in paintings as well as surviving specimens and fragments.
There are two “pouchlets” on the front body that open and close by means of leather drawstrings and period buttons for draws. The flap decoration is achieved by utilizing a false butt stitch wherein the flap leather itself becomes raised above the surface by the stitching. The simple design is from a repeating theme found engraved on the barrels of some 17th century Dutch/ English firearms.
The pouch is approximately 8 ¾” tall by 12 ½” wide overall and is constructed of vegetable tanned leather. It features rolled welts, bound edges and rolled/ sewn entries on the main body as well as internal pockets. A bellows provides a roomy main compartment and there are two large pockets on the inner rear wall. The strap buckle is handmade of brass with an iron tongue. Its design is common to those from 1600-1700.
Beautiful!
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