Cowboy chaps for fancy dress
Object No. 2009/6/2
This boy's dress up costume is a pair of chaps. Chaps were a classic item of clothing worn by traditional American cowboys, the heyday of which lasted only about 20 years from 1866 to 1886. Chaps, pronounced 'shaps', were made of leather and worn as coverings over the cowboy's trousers. They protected them from spiky bushes, being stabbed by long-horned cattle, bitten by horses and chafed knees from long hours of riding in the saddle. The life of the cowboy was romanticised in Wild West shows, books, musicals and films. Before the advent of television in Australia in 1956, children made weekly trips to the cinema where the programme included American films and serials with cowboys and Indians. The serialised stories were left in a cliff hanger situation to ensure a return the next week. Consequently, cowboys and Indians became a prominent children's game. The influence and popularity of the American Wild West saw it continue to spread into Australian popular culture via radio serials such as Hopalong Cassidy and Smokey Dawson. Later, Australian television stations screened an array of American Western-style shows in the 1960s and 1970s including 'Wells Fargo', 'Kit Carson', 'Wyatt Earp', 'Maverick, 'Have Gun Will Travel', 'Rawhide', 'The Rifle Man', 'Bonanza', 'Wagon Train', 'Annie Oakley' and 'Cheyenne'. There were numerous toys produced with tie ins to these programmes, including model cowboys and Indians, cap guns, bows and arrows, dress up clothes, accessories and tents. These all allowed children to escape into a fantasy world of their own creation inspired by their Wild West heroes. Margaret Simpson Assistant Curator, Science & Industry November 2008
Loading...
Summary
Object Statement
Cowboy chaps, 'Roy Rogers King of the Cowboys, Dale Evans Queen of the West', fancy dress costume, textile / plastic / metal, maker unknown, probably Australia, 1950-1980
Physical Description
Fancy dress costume, cowboy chaps, 'Roy Rogers King of the Cowboys, Dale Evans Queen of the West', fabric / plastic, maker unknown, probably Australia, 1950-1980 Chaps are protective coverings for cowboy's legs. They were tied over trousers but, unlike trousers, have no seat and are not joined at the crotch. The chaps are finished in black and white, are decorated with sheriff stars, and feature a holster pocket and ties for the waist, and fastened with a metal buckle at the back. There is a faint imprint of text and graphics on the black section of the chaps referring to Roy Rogers 'King of the Cowboys', Dale Evans 'Queen of the West'.
DIMENSIONS
Height
580 mm
Width
500 mm
PRODUCTION
Notes
The work and skills of cowboys were brought to the public notice when William 'Buffalo Bill' Cody's Wild West show was formed in 1883 and toured the United States and Europe for over 30 years. The idea of the cowboy as a strong, silent and capable hero began in America and was popularised by writers such as Owen Wister (1860-1938) and Zane Grey (1872-1939). This was taken up by the film industry from 1903 and the first Western film star was Tom Mix (1880-1940) who made some 300 films. Others followed, including Gene Autry who rode 'Champion the Wonder Horse' in 95 movies and Roy Rogers mounted on 'Trigger', who made films from 1942 to 1954. Later, both Autry and Rogers had their own television shows. More Westerns were said to have been made by Hollywood than any other type of film with stars such as William S. Hart (1865-1946), John Wayne (1907-1979) and from the 1960s Clint Eastwood (b.1930). The strong presence of Westerns in film and television entertainment gave rise to the immense popularity of children's cowboy and cowgirl dress up costumes from the 1950s. The main Australian manufacturer of children's dress up clothes was the Sydney toy manufacturer, A.L. Lindsay Pty Ltd. During the 1940s the company began using Buffalo Bill as their trade mark and traded as Buffalo Bill Products, exploiting the boom in film and later television westerns. They produced a series of chaps in calf skin, leather, and suede, as well as beautifully embossed holsters. It would appear this costume was commercially produced although there is no evidence of labelling. Murdoch, David H. "Collins Eyewitness Guides : Cowboys", HarperCollins, 1993.
HISTORY
Notes
Little is known about the history of this costume as it has been handed down through several people. It was given to the donor by a teacher at her daughter's preschool in Melbourne which she attended in 2002. It is thought that the teacher acquired the costume from a dance studio in Thornbury, a Melbourne suburb, in the 1980s. It is unclear whether the costume was used by a family who attended the studio or the dance studio itself.
SOURCE
Credit Line
Gift of Linno Rhodes, 2009
Acquisition Date
15 January 2009
Copyright for the above image is held by the Powerhouse and may be subject to third-party copyright restrictions. Please submit an Image Licensing Enquiry for information regarding reproduction, copyright and fees. Text is released under Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivative licence.
Image Licensing Enquiry
Object Enquiry