Plug: US Navy Tailor Made Dress Blues, Liberty Cuffs and Sailor Folk Art

One of the most popular images on this site is my illustration of a pair of US Navy Liberty Cuffs which I couldn't have done without the information from Navy Collector, a site by Dan Smith SCPO, USNR(Ret). Dan recently messaged me with information about his new book "US Navy Tailor Made Dress Blues, Liberty Cuffs and Sailor Folk Art", so I thought I'd give him a plug. Thanks for your site Dan! I'm looking forward to the book. Order information is at the bottom of the image posted above.

EDIT 04/21/11: While there is a lot of fascinating stuff in this book- plenty of photos and history- and while it is obviously a labor of love- I think I should note that this is not a "traditional coffee table book". It is not bound like a hardcover (or softcover) book. (It has a spiral binding). Given that I've provided the plug above, I think I should provide (relatively) full disclosure here. If there are any publishers, graphic designers or book packagers out there looking for a potentially remunerative project, I think this book is it. I encourage you to get in touch with Dan Smith and help him out on the design and presentation angle.

Liberty Cuffs

Recently someone requested I do an illustration of "Liberty Cuffs", an old school Navy tradition where sailors had handmade patches sewn inside the cuffs of their jumpers. SCPO Daniel D. Smith's article on "Liberty Cuffs" can give you a full rundown on the history of this sartorial practice. Navy uniform threads on Military.Com and the US Militaria Forum have some personal photos of Liberty Cuffs and anecdotes about getting and wearing them by real, gen-u-ine sailors.

For these cuffs I decided to illustrate the submarine warfare badge (because it's so cool) and a mermaid (how could I not)...I also tried to paint in red and green stitching on the wearer's port and starboard sleeves to mimic running lights. Didn't work out so well, but I know what I'd do different next time.

(And for those of you visiting for around the country and around the world, don't be shy and leave a comment! Thanks for stopping by.)

EDIT 050411: Signed giclee prints of this image are available! Drop me a line at coldisthesea09@yahoo.com to inquire!