British uniforms color

[maciek]

Hi,
I'm confused when reading about British uniforms shade.
Most sources says, that during WSS infantry and dragoons privates wore uniforms of light shade of red, as that were made of cheaper fabric, while officers and horse regiment troopers had darker coats. In Osprey's "Marlborough Army" the difference could be seen on colour plates.
It's very interesting, that 70 years later, during American Revolution the situation would reversed - officers and guards wore lighter shade of red (dyed with insects dyes) and privates had dark, madder red, dyed with cheap plant extracts. It can be seen at this plate:
http://www.historicalimagebank.com/gall ... alNumber=2
My question is - what changed during 18 century that cheap and expensive fabric changes teir colours so dramatically ? How can we explain that ?

[Churchill]

Ray.

[Rob Herrick]

With vegetable dyes, it was next to impossible to have a consistent color. So red could and would vary in shade between different batches of coats issued to the men, depending on the quality, diligence and honesty of the contractor and their materials. Furthermore, the dyes were not color fast, so they would fade quite quickly with exposure to the elements. White was the exception, because that could always be pipeclayed back to white. A coat was issued, IIRC, once every 2-3 years, and that was it.

Officers' uniforms were private purchases, not issued, in the British Army, and officers were expected to maintain their appearance out of their own resources. As such, they obtained uniforms from private and usually higher quality sources, and paid accordingly. So, while their dyes were subject to the same limitations as the men's, the higher quality material and workmanship usually told.

Finally, with Ospreys, you're depending on the artist's interpretation of regulations and then the printers and pagenators interpretation of the artist's colors. Colors also fade over time, so existing samples do not look like they did when issued.

So I don't think it's a case of officially changing colors. AFAIK, until the 1870s, officers and some NCOs wore scarlet, but the ranks wore brick red. Instead, it's probably different dyes, different quality cloth and workmanship, and different stages of wear.

[maciek]

Well, I'm attracted by perspective of different shades of red in one regiment. I wanted only to know if there is no mistake in description of "cheap" and "expensive" colors.

[Rob Herrick]

Well, I'm attracted by perspective of different shades of red in one regiment. I wanted only to know if there is no mistake in description of "cheap" and "expensive" colors.

As far as I can tell, regulation was scarlet for officers and some sergeants, and a "brick red" for the ranks - and that didn't change until 1872. So, while there is a LOT of room for variation, most likely the "cheap" red would be lighter and more faded. Pick a combination that satisfies you.

Also, at least for the WSS, the Cameronians were in crimson (Churchill will correct me if I am wrong on this), not red.