Fashioning Insurrection

From Imperial Resistance To American Orientalisms
✖ an archer dressed in Indian costume fighting British soldiers in red coats.

About the Exhibit

Americans have adapted uniforms into costumes since the masquerade balls of colonial days to today’s historical films and battle reenactments. The practice took an unexpected form in the first decades following the American Revolution when the early presses of the United States closely covered imperial insurrections that unfolded across Islamicate societies against the three towering empires of the era: the Greek War of Independence against the Ottomans (1821–29), the Ottoman Algerian resistance to the French (1830–48), and the Indian uprising against the British (1857). Alongside depictions of these struggles, American popular media paid careful attention to the “national” dress and military uniforms that could potentially unify a revolution or even aid in controlling insurrection. As the young nation navigated its connections to the Islamicate world, some reinterpreted visual and sartorial modes of imperial resistance. The reverberations of these events led to the emergence of orientalist costumes and dress that transformed regional revolutionary garb into American fashion statements of solidarity, fascination, and emulation.
Through these forms of cosmopolitan materialism, Americans announced their political stances on historic movements, sometimes also asserting their country’s imperial ambitions and legacies as it solidified its standing in the world. Such sartorial translations from uniforms to fashion informed America’s evolving relationship with its own revolutionary past. Each medium these costumes inhabited aided Americans in creatively redefining their country’s transforming identity on the international stage while facing resonant issues in their new nation, including foreign trade, slavery, and humanitarianism. Alongside contextualizing documents, the works here vividly illustrate how the U.S. wielded these movements of imperial insurrection to remold its own world image and don it with aplomb.

About the Exhibit
Cartes-de-visite were commonly traded among friends and visitors in the 1860s. The albums that collected and displayed these cards became a common fixture in Victorian parlors. Their relatively low cost contributed to the popularity of the format and its rapid adoption worldwide, which made portrait photographs accessible to a broader demographic. The cards also made the ideal way to remember loved ones fighting in foreign wars, making soldiers frequent clients at photography studios. Prior to the advent of mechanical reproduction of photographs, cartes-de-visite facilitated the dissemination and collection of portraits of prominent persons as an early form of celebrity culture. It is uncertain whether these photographs were given as personal portraits between familiars or as character types of ethnic groups serving in the French Army, which was also a common use of these carte-de-visite, akin to earlier costume album paintings. All of these cartes-de-visite feature Zouave uniforms, yet only the one portraying Turcos was definitively photographed by a studio in Algiers. Part of the appeal of this cross-cultural uniform was how intentionally difficult it became to discern the ethnic origins of a soldier with certainty (though the titles tirailleurs and turcos often indicated troops of North African descent). Likewise, the popularity of Zouave soldiers — and the women who served as cantinières, or canteen keepers, and who sometimes fought alongside them in battle — spurred many French consumers and performers, including female burlesque dancers, to dress in Zouave costumes for studio portraits. Though a highly exoticizing use of regional fashion, the rising numbers of commercial portraits of civilians donning Zouave costumes attest to how these soldiers and the visual traces of colonization had infiltrated the popular imaginations of French consumers.
Cartes-de-visite were commonly traded among friends and visitors in the 1860s. The albums that collected and displayed these cards became a common fixture in Victorian parlors. Their relatively low cost contributed to the popularity of the format and its rapid adoption worldwide, which made portrait photographs accessible to a broader demographic. The cards also made the ideal way to remember loved ones fighting in foreign wars, making soldiers frequent clients at photography studios. Prior to the advent of mechanical reproduction of photographs, cartes-de-visite facilitated the dissemination and collection of portraits of prominent persons as an early form of celebrity culture. It is uncertain whether these photographs were given as personal portraits between familiars or as character types of ethnic groups serving in the French Army, which was also a common use of these carte-de-visite, akin to earlier costume album paintings. All of these cartes-de-visite feature Zouave uniforms, yet only the one portraying Turcos was definitively photographed by a studio in Algiers. Part of the appeal of this cross-cultural uniform was how intentionally difficult it became to discern the ethnic origins of a soldier with certainty (though the titles tirailleurs and turcos often indicated troops of North African descent). Likewise, the popularity of Zouave soldiers — and the women who served as cantinières, or canteen keepers, and who sometimes fought alongside them in battle — spurred many French consumers and performers, including female burlesque dancers, to dress in Zouave costumes for studio portraits. Though a highly exoticizing use of regional fashion, the rising numbers of commercial portraits of civilians donning Zouave costumes attest to how these soldiers and the visual traces of colonization had infiltrated the popular imaginations of French consumers.
Cartes-de-visite were commonly traded among friends and visitors in the 1860s. The albums that collected and displayed these cards became a common fixture in Victorian parlors. Their relatively low cost contributed to the popularity of the format and its rapid adoption worldwide, which made portrait photographs accessible to a broader demographic. The cards also made the ideal way to remember loved ones fighting in foreign wars, making soldiers frequent clients at photography studios. Prior to the advent of mechanical reproduction of photographs, cartes-de-visite facilitated the dissemination and collection of portraits of prominent persons as an early form of celebrity culture. It is uncertain whether these photographs were given as personal portraits between familiars or as character types of ethnic groups serving in the French Army, which was also a common use of these carte-de-visite, akin to earlier costume album paintings. All of these cartes-de-visite feature Zouave uniforms, yet only the one portraying Turcos was definitively photographed by a studio in Algiers. Part of the appeal of this cross-cultural uniform was how intentionally difficult it became to discern the ethnic origins of a soldier with certainty (though the titles tirailleurs and turcos often indicated troops of North African descent). Likewise, the popularity of Zouave soldiers — and the women who served as cantinières, or canteen keepers, and who sometimes fought alongside them in battle — spurred many French consumers and performers, including female burlesque dancers, to dress in Zouave costumes for studio portraits. Though a highly exoticizing use of regional fashion, the rising numbers of commercial portraits of civilians donning Zouave costumes attest to how these soldiers and the visual traces of colonization had infiltrated the popular imaginations of French consumers.
Cartes-de-visite were commonly traded among friends and visitors in the 1860s. The albums that collected and displayed these cards became a common fixture in Victorian parlors. Their relatively low cost contributed to the popularity of the format and its rapid adoption worldwide, which made portrait photographs accessible to a broader demographic. The cards also made the ideal way to remember loved ones fighting in foreign wars, making soldiers frequent clients at photography studios. Prior to the advent of mechanical reproduction of photographs, cartes-de-visite facilitated the dissemination and collection of portraits of prominent persons as an early form of celebrity culture. It is uncertain whether these photographs were given as personal portraits between familiars or as character types of ethnic groups serving in the French Army, which was also a common use of these carte-de-visite, akin to earlier costume album paintings. All of these cartes-de-visite feature Zouave uniforms, yet only the one portraying Turcos was definitively photographed by a studio in Algiers. Part of the appeal of this cross-cultural uniform was how intentionally difficult it became to discern the ethnic origins of a soldier with certainty (though the titles tirailleurs and turcos often indicated troops of North African descent). Likewise, the popularity of Zouave soldiers — and the women who served as cantinières, or canteen keepers, and who sometimes fought alongside them in battle — spurred many French consumers and performers, including female burlesque dancers, to dress in Zouave costumes for studio portraits. Though a highly exoticizing use of regional fashion, the rising numbers of commercial portraits of civilians donning Zouave costumes attest to how these soldiers and the visual traces of colonization had infiltrated the popular imaginations of French consumers.
Cartes-de-visite were commonly traded among friends and visitors in the 1860s. The albums that collected and displayed these cards became a common fixture in Victorian parlors. Their relatively low cost contributed to the popularity of the format and its rapid adoption worldwide, which made portrait photographs accessible to a broader demographic. The cards also made the ideal way to remember loved ones fighting in foreign wars, making soldiers frequent clients at photography studios. Prior to the advent of mechanical reproduction of photographs, cartes-de-visite facilitated the dissemination and collection of portraits of prominent persons as an early form of celebrity culture. It is uncertain whether these photographs were given as personal portraits between familiars or as character types of ethnic groups serving in the French Army, which was also a common use of these carte-de-visite, akin to earlier costume album paintings. All of these cartes-de-visite feature Zouave uniforms, yet only the one portraying Turcos was definitively photographed by a studio in Algiers. Part of the appeal of this cross-cultural uniform was how intentionally difficult it became to discern the ethnic origins of a soldier with certainty (though the titles tirailleurs and turcos often indicated troops of North African descent). Likewise, the popularity of Zouave soldiers — and the women who served as cantinières, or canteen keepers, and who sometimes fought alongside them in battle — spurred many French consumers and performers, including female burlesque dancers, to dress in Zouave costumes for studio portraits. Though a highly exoticizing use of regional fashion, the rising numbers of commercial portraits of civilians donning Zouave costumes attest to how these soldiers and the visual traces of colonization had infiltrated the popular imaginations of French consumers.
Cartes-de-visite were commonly traded among friends and visitors in the 1860s. The albums that collected and displayed these cards became a common fixture in Victorian parlors. Their relatively low cost contributed to the popularity of the format and its rapid adoption worldwide, which made portrait photographs accessible to a broader demographic. The cards also made the ideal way to remember loved ones fighting in foreign wars, making soldiers frequent clients at photography studios. Prior to the advent of mechanical reproduction of photographs, cartes-de-visite facilitated the dissemination and collection of portraits of prominent persons as an early form of celebrity culture. It is uncertain whether these photographs were given as personal portraits between familiars or as character types of ethnic groups serving in the French Army, which was also a common use of these carte-de-visite, akin to earlier costume album paintings. All of these cartes-de-visite feature Zouave uniforms, yet only the one portraying Turcos was definitively photographed by a studio in Algiers. Part of the appeal of this cross-cultural uniform was how intentionally difficult it became to discern the ethnic origins of a soldier with certainty (though the titles tirailleurs and turcos often indicated troops of North African descent). Likewise, the popularity of Zouave soldiers — and the women who served as cantinières, or canteen keepers, and who sometimes fought alongside them in battle — spurred many French consumers and performers, including female burlesque dancers, to dress in Zouave costumes for studio portraits. Though a highly exoticizing use of regional fashion, the rising numbers of commercial portraits of civilians donning Zouave costumes attest to how these soldiers and the visual traces of colonization had infiltrated the popular imaginations of French consumers.

Turcos and Zouaves Cartes-de-Visite

View original record

from top left:
Kriegsgefangene: Tirailleurs (Light Infantrymen from Senegal and Algeria)
Gustav Sölch (photographer, active 1870s)
Photograph (carte-de-visite), 1870
Brown University Library, Anne S. K. Brown Military Collection


Turco
Jean-Baptiste Antoine Alary (photographer, 1811–c. 1867) and Jean Théophile Geiser (photographer, 1848–1923)
Albumen photograph (carte-de-visite)
Alary & Geiser, Algiers, 1858
Brown University Library, Anne S. K. Brown Military Collection


Zouavre (sic)
D. F. Millet (photographer, active 1850s)
Albumen photograph (carte-de-visite)
Paris, France, 1858?
Brown University Library, Anne S. K. Brown Military Collection


Zouavre (sic)
Unknown studio
Albumen photograph (carte-de-visite)
Paris, France?, circa 1850s
Brown University Library, Anne S. K. Brown Military Collection


Cantinière au Zouaves
Léon Crémière (photographer, 1831–1913)
Albumen photograph (carte-de-visite)
Paris, France, 1869
Brown University Library, Anne S. K. Brown Military Collection


Cartes-de-visite were commonly traded among friends and visitors in the 1860s. The albums that collected and displayed these cards became a common fixture in Victorian parlors. Their relatively low cost contributed to the popularity of the format and its rapid adoption worldwide, which made portrait photographs accessible to a broader demographic. The cards also made the ideal way to remember loved ones fighting in foreign wars, making soldiers frequent clients at photography studios. Prior to the advent of mechanical reproduction of photographs, cartes-de-visite facilitated the dissemination and collection of portraits of prominent persons as an early form of celebrity culture. It is uncertain whether these photographs were given as personal portraits between familiars or as character types of ethnic groups serving in the French Army, which was also a common use of these carte-de-visite, akin to earlier costume album paintings. All of these cartes-de-visite feature Zouave uniforms, yet only the one portraying Turcos was definitively photographed by a studio in Algiers. Part of the appeal of this cross-cultural uniform was how intentionally difficult it became to discern the ethnic origins of a soldier with certainty (though the titles tirailleurs and turcos often indicated troops of North African descent). Likewise, the popularity of Zouave soldiers — and the women who served as cantinières, or canteen keepers, and who sometimes fought alongside them in battle — spurred many French consumers and performers, including female burlesque dancers, to dress in Zouave costumes for studio portraits. Though a highly exoticizing use of regional fashion, the rising numbers of commercial portraits of civilians donning Zouave costumes attest to how these soldiers and the visual traces of colonization had infiltrated the popular imaginations of French consumers.