Robert & Orson Stewart, AZ 1913

Ancient Faces

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1913 Arizona - real cowboys!! Wow - western movies are pretty realistic?

Oct 18, 2019 ·

Patrick James

34 favorites

The cowpokes are not dressed appropriately

Oct 18, 2019 on

AncientFaces

Yeah, my fault - I don't think they're cowhands - probably Old West "townspeople"?

Oct 18, 2019 on

Ree Young

236 favorites

What do you think cowboys were supposed to be wearing?? Here's a photo of real cowhands who worked in Comanche County, Kansas, ca. 1900.

Oct 18, 2019 on

Patrick James

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Ree Young If you take the time to look, all your cowboys are wearing Chaps.

Oct 18, 2019 on

Ree Young

236 favorites

Patrick James Well, you must have super-vision because I can't see what some of them are wearing on their legs. Can't even see the legs on some of them at all, just where their feet are in the stirrups.

But not every cowboy wore chaps, especially if he wasn't actually out riding herd and working. Plus, through the 1800s and early 1900s, many cowboys wore their pants legs tucked into their boots so the material wouldn't get snagged on thorns and twigs.

Also, right after the Civil War, a lot of cowboys just wore parts of their old uniforms and overcoats...not any particular outfit for being a cowboy.

I know my uncle didn't wear chaps in some of the photos of him from the early 1900s when he was a cowboy. Uncle Walter was born in 1890 (my mother's eldest brother) and didn't want to stay on the family farm, so he left and went west. He worked as a cowboy on cattle drives for a few years and also cooked for the crew. Eventually, that led him to become a chef on the railroad for many years. I have a couple of his old cookbooks and his prized chef's knife.

But if you can see chaps on those cowboys in the dark and shadowy photo, more power to ya!

Oct 18, 2019 on

Patrick James

34 favorites

Did you write this all to me!

Oct 18, 2019 on

Ree Young

236 favorites

I wrote it to explain that not every cowboy in a photo from back then would be wearing chaps. Since there were for protection when riding in the brush, there was no need to wear them when going into town when they weren't working. Besides the photographs that show this, it's also common sense.

The details about my uncle were for what I personally knew about at least one person who worked as a cowboy in that time period.

Any other details were information for anyone who might be interested.

Has that cleared up why I wrote it and for whom I wrote it?

Oct 19, 2019 on