Colorado David
Explorer
I've been following some of the tent discussions and didn't want to take those off-topic so I thought I would start my own.
I have a tent that my grandfather made for me when I was a child. He had been a British Army officer and immigrated to the U.S. and started an awning company. He made mostly custom fabricated awnings, but during the depression he expanded into making sails and canvas tool storage (I wish I had a set of his canvas tool rolls.) My dad could remember spending evenings helping fabricate these additional products that kept them afloat during the tough economic times.
Back to the tent. My tent is made from very heavy, khaki colored canvas and is in as good a condition as it was in the early sixties. I would take this tent everywhere and use it all the time if only it weren't dimensioned to be a child's backyard toy. In every way except for size it is the real deal. Think of the photos you've seen of British big-game hunters encamped in East Africa. That is what this tent looks like in every respect but size. If you've read any of the wonderful books by Col. James Corbett you'll have seen his reference to his forty pound tent. This tent is of that pattern.
It has a wonderful aroma, especially with the sun shining on the canvas. I haven't had it up for some time, but when my daughter was a child we would pitch it in the back yard. The darn thing is a time machine. We would put it up and somehow be transported back to my childhood. I could hear the soft, proper British accent of my grandfather's voice. He died in 1966. I am jealous of my older sisters who had so much more time with him. I remember my dad selling the heavy, commercial sewing machines used in the awning business.
Every now and then I entertain the thought of making or have made a tent just like this one, only large enough to accommodate two cots and some equipment. Maybe it could be a time machine too. Isn't that why we do what we do, to go somewhere not of this time, to escape from our complex culture and visit an earlier time? I wouldn't know where to begin. I no longer have access to the commercial sewing machines and the knowledge of stitching canvas is gone now too since my dad has passed. Still, it seems like a worthy project if impractical. I may have to go out to the garage and take a whiff of the canvas.
Now that I've written this, it almost seems too personal to post. Oh well, here it is.
I have a tent that my grandfather made for me when I was a child. He had been a British Army officer and immigrated to the U.S. and started an awning company. He made mostly custom fabricated awnings, but during the depression he expanded into making sails and canvas tool storage (I wish I had a set of his canvas tool rolls.) My dad could remember spending evenings helping fabricate these additional products that kept them afloat during the tough economic times.
Back to the tent. My tent is made from very heavy, khaki colored canvas and is in as good a condition as it was in the early sixties. I would take this tent everywhere and use it all the time if only it weren't dimensioned to be a child's backyard toy. In every way except for size it is the real deal. Think of the photos you've seen of British big-game hunters encamped in East Africa. That is what this tent looks like in every respect but size. If you've read any of the wonderful books by Col. James Corbett you'll have seen his reference to his forty pound tent. This tent is of that pattern.
It has a wonderful aroma, especially with the sun shining on the canvas. I haven't had it up for some time, but when my daughter was a child we would pitch it in the back yard. The darn thing is a time machine. We would put it up and somehow be transported back to my childhood. I could hear the soft, proper British accent of my grandfather's voice. He died in 1966. I am jealous of my older sisters who had so much more time with him. I remember my dad selling the heavy, commercial sewing machines used in the awning business.
Every now and then I entertain the thought of making or have made a tent just like this one, only large enough to accommodate two cots and some equipment. Maybe it could be a time machine too. Isn't that why we do what we do, to go somewhere not of this time, to escape from our complex culture and visit an earlier time? I wouldn't know where to begin. I no longer have access to the commercial sewing machines and the knowledge of stitching canvas is gone now too since my dad has passed. Still, it seems like a worthy project if impractical. I may have to go out to the garage and take a whiff of the canvas.
Now that I've written this, it almost seems too personal to post. Oh well, here it is.
