The Southern Traveler

A Contemporary Interpretation of Arms, Accoutrements and Provisions of the Mid 18th Century Southern Frontier

 

Premier Showing • Contemporary Longrifle Association Annual Show, August 15 & 16, 2014

 

  Created by a group of artisans over a period of two years, The Southern Traveler is a collection of "artifacts" representing the personal possessions carried by a Southern frontiersman in the early to mid 18th century. The identity of this frontiersman has been lost to the ages - but perhaps part of his story may be told by the remarkable objects left behind when the traveler's journey had come to an end.

 

  In the traveler's time, the history of the deep South had included almost 200 years of European and Native American encounters. The players in this drama included Spanish, French and English explorers, along with numerous native tribes including the Creek, the Choctaw, the Cherokee and Chickasaw. Together these nations and cultures established a tremendous trade network, reaching for the Atlantic coast to west of the Mississippi, and from the Gulf of Mexico to the Eastern Woodlands.

 

   The pieces that comprise this unique collection reflect the rich cultural diversity of the early Southern Frontier. A few of the items are near reproductions based on existing original work; but many of the pieces in the collection would perhaps be best compared to "previously unknown" artifacts -new creations that draw equally from the wells of tradition and imagination.

 

CONTRIBUTING ARTISANS

 

Ian Pratt

Maryellen Pratt

Lally House

Joe Seabolt

Mike Agee

David Hughes

Rob Stone

Art Decamp

Ken Gahagan

Brian Barker

Dan Minard

Willie White

Mike Grau

Tom Conde

 

Photo Maryellen Pratt.

Copy by Paul Gosnell and Ian Pratt.