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campaign hardware
Posted: Thu Oct 31, 2013 2:15 pm
by Philip S
I have been working on a wooden gun case for an English style long range rifle. While looking for appropriate hardware I ran across a phrase I was not familiar with: "Campaign Hardware." Apparently English officers had special portable furniture which could be easily broken down and reassembled for transport. The brass hardware was specially designed to not protrude so the pieces could easily fit together in wagons, horseback, train, etc. I have seen similar items used by Civil War officers as well.
http://www.astoriedstyle.com/index.php/ ... bathrooms/
http://www.rockler.com/woodworking/Camp ... 4AodKXwA7A
Re: campaign hardware
Posted: Thu Oct 31, 2013 8:33 pm
by Philip S
Some more info and pictures of British Campaign Furniture:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campaign_furniture
http://www.campaignfurniture.com/
An Indian company with a fascinating site with all the furniture and cases needed for a safari:
http://www.jandrguram.com/
Re: campaign hardware
Posted: Thu Oct 31, 2013 8:39 pm
by Philip S
An American Civil War example of an officer's field desk on Pawn Stars:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEdUFnXA5ek
Re: campaign hardware
Posted: Wed Nov 06, 2013 5:44 pm
by browerpatch
Evidently, this is a good references for British campaign furniture. Amazon sure is proud of it:
http://www.amazon.com/British-Campaign- ... 0810957116
Frank Brower
Re: campaign hardware
Posted: Wed Nov 06, 2013 7:04 pm
by Philip S
The reviews are fascinating...too bad it is so expensive.
Re: campaign hardware
Posted: Thu Nov 07, 2013 12:10 pm
by selewis
Philip S wrote:I have been working on a wooden gun case for an English style long range rifle. While looking for appropriate hardware I ran across a phrase I was not familiar with: "Campaign Hardware."
Thanks Philip, et al. Neat stuff. I've never heard the term either and I wonder if it might be of fairly recent coinage applied retroactively to delineate, dare I say exalt, a subset of knockdown furniture. Maybe, maybe not. I'm working under the handicap of a borrowed computer but the earliest use of the term that I could find was from the 1990's. Maybe some of our British friends could shed some light on the etymology of the term.
Sandy
Re: campaign hardware
Posted: Tue Nov 12, 2013 11:46 am
by Reese Williams
Phillip,
I think the term has been around since at least the early 1800s probably before. I certainly remember seeing references to it in my teens, the 1960's. I don't know when items started being specifically made for officers on campaign but it was surely commonplace by the Napoleonic wars.
Re: campaign hardware
Posted: Tue Nov 12, 2013 12:11 pm
by selewis
Thanks, Reese. Good to know; it was new to me.
Sandy
Re: campaign hardware
Posted: Mon Dec 02, 2013 8:56 pm
by Philip S
Re: campaign hardware
Posted: Tue Dec 03, 2013 7:08 am
by Brian P.
Here's a modern incarnation. -- not near the quality of some of the finer furniture:
http://www.viralnova.com/not-a-box/
Re: campaign hardware
Posted: Tue Dec 10, 2013 8:32 pm
by Philip S
The purpose of campaign furniture was to make transportation easier. In the days of animal transportation bulk was just as important as weight. Below are two illustrations of pack transportation of campaign furniture from the book "British Campaign Furniture, Elegance under Canvas 1740-1914."
Re: campaign hardware
Posted: Tue Dec 10, 2013 8:40 pm
by Philip S
In case you would like to make your own Campaign chest:
http://www.popularwoodworking.com/proje ... -furniture
Re: campaign hardware
Posted: Wed Dec 18, 2013 10:25 am
by Philip S
Confederate General Robert E. Lee's campaign headquarters furniture on display in the Gettysburg Visitor's Center:
Re: campaign hardware
Posted: Wed Dec 18, 2013 10:27 am
by Philip S
Lee's medical chest is very clever and compact:
Re: campaign hardware
Posted: Wed Dec 18, 2013 9:00 pm
by Philip S
Lee's medicine chest may have had a significant impact on the Battle of Gettysburg:
http://www.gatehouse-press.com/?p=517
Re: campaign hardware
Posted: Sat Dec 28, 2013 7:59 am
by Philip S
At the end of "British Campaign Furniture, Elegance under Canvas 1740-1914" detailing the history and usages of portable furniture is this ironic note:
"The British Army is a social institution prepared for every emergency except that of war."
H.O. Arnold-Forster Secretary of War, 1903