Revolutionary War Uniforms, 1900
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia
Vital Statistics
Graphite drawings on tracing paper (copy), 19 1/2 x 23 1/2 inches, irregularUnsigned
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia
Commentary
In 1900 Trego received a request from Belgian artist Théophile Lybaert for information regarding the details of American Revolutionary War uniforms. As a part of his response, Trego prepared eighteen drawings with annotations to include with the voluminous letter he wrote to Lybaert. The drawings included renderings of coats, jackets, and hats, but most of the drawings seem to have been devoted to details such as knapsacks, cartridge boxes, canteens, and cockades. Harrison Morris of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, who acted as the intermediary in this exchange of information, had the drawings and the letter copied for PAFAs files. The typed copy of the letter is illustrated with three additional small sketchesapparently copies of Tregos originals. The copy of Tregos annotations for the eighteen drawings is hand written and the numbering corresponds item by item with the sheet of drawings. The latter is likely a copy of the original as it is on tracing paper. (Trego files and Harrison Morris press books, Archives of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts; as of 2008, the list of annotations was kept in a file marked Battery of Light Artillery en Route, in the registrars office, PAFA)Lybaerts painting Fumeur, Tambour de Jersey Bleus shows evidence that Lybaert made use of the detailed information Trego had provided.
Reproductions
The drawings can be seen on the website of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine ArtsCondition
The sheet of drawings is in excellent condition.< Study sketch for "The Rescue of the Colors," 1898 Awaiting Orders to Cross the Burnside Bridge, 1901 >