19th Century Concealed Carry

[bigbore442001]

One thing to bear in mind is the style of clothing people wore in the past. It was fuller cut and did not necessarily hug all the countours of your body like many styles today. You would be able to effectively conceal a cap and ball revolver by wearing clothing that was socially acceptable.

As an example, one of the social morays that was in vogue was the wearing of a coat whenever ladies were present. It was considered very uncouth and possibly vulgar to have your suspenders showing to a lady. So you had to wear a coat or a vest. No matter the weather that was the accepted norm of the day.

Where did you get this information? Or is this another 19th century urban myth? We that do civil war reenacting have been told this for years and years but yet no-one can seem to come up with the provenance for it. So we have no longer adopted this attitude. If you look at period photos you will find thousands of men without coats and vests. I have a copy of "Photographic History of the Civil War" by Civil War Times right besides me, when I scanned through it I found tons of unvested, uncoated pictures of men. If you have any documentation please pass it on, we have been looking for it for years.

I will admit that this is what I learned while attending some reinactments but I suspect that on the frontier this would not apply. I recall seeing a picture of my great grandmother Katrine. I will have to dig it up and see if I can post it on the internet. She came to the US from Poland around 1900 or so. She wore a black dress with a lace collar and lace gloves without fingers.Very Victorian looking. Then again it is a photograph and one would dress up for such an event.

I am also thinking more of an Eastern US or urban mindset. There would be more social pressure to behave in a prescribed manner. I am sure on a dairy farm in Massachusetts men routinely went clad with less clothing in the heat of July but most likely they dressed up to what was considered appropriate in town.

 

[Geraldo]

Another thing to look at is pictures of police departments. You will see very few, if any, holstered pistols prior to 1900. Uniformed patrolmen carried their guns in their pockets, and standardized/issued pistols and training didn't begin until the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

 

[Gatofeo]

From what I understand, single-shot percussion pistols and knives were popular hide-out items in boots. The boots were quite high on those days, the front portion reaching well past the knee.
Shoulder holsters were not unknown. I once saw a photo of twin shoulder holsters for flintlock, single-shot pistols carried in the late 1700s. Surely, the transition to revolvers followed.
Some carried small single-shot pistols and small revolvers in their coat pockets.
It is not uncommon for archaeologists to find small pistols and revolvers in old privy holes. The speculation is that the owner, while removing or putting on his coat, had it fall from the pocket and down the hole, probably unnoticed.
Remember, outhouses were often dark. You were lucky if you had a small candle in there, or could borrow a small lantern from the tavern or inn keeper. Easy to lose a pistol and not notice.
Much of the clothing was homemade, or handmade by tailors. I suspect those who carried pistols had it made a little looser than normal, or with larger pockets, for this reason.
High-crowned hats may have been a good place to hide a weapon within as well. It all came down to ingenuity, a trait not lacking on the frontier.