A Name and A Photo

This is gerg's great great grandfather.

I've been told his last name was Gould and he was a mayor in England.

I'm trying to learn more about him.

Any history buffs out there?

What's with the cloak and hat? How about the item behind him bearing some resemblance to the English crown?

4 comments:

John said...

Reetsy, the rig worn by the man in the photo does appear to that of a mayor of an English town.

The item behind him is a ceremonial mace, symbolic of the authority granted by the sovereign to certain chartered towns to administer their own affairs. It would be carried in processions by an official macebearer accompanying the mayor, and probably displayed on a special stand in the council chambers when the town council is in session.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceremonial_mace

Reetsyburger said...

Awesome! Thank you for the information!

Do you know if there is some sort of reference book where I could find his name and more about him?

Also, do you know what kind of hat he's wearing?

Reetsyburger said...

ack pointed me in the direction and I was able to find out that it's a cocked hat.

"The cocked hat is a style of formal headgear, or hat, worn by certain civilian, military and naval officials from the early 19th century until the beginning of World War II."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cocked_hat

John said...

Yep, the headgear is specifically a "fore-and-aft" bicorn, and is still worn with the ceremonial costume of some British office-holders, civic and otherwise.

If you knew which town or city he was from, you'd be able to find biographical info on this individual. However, I am guessing that you don't know and are hoping for clues from this photo.

Probably a pretty good sized place, judging by the mace. The mace and the gown pretty much follow a general pattern, so they do not give a clue which specific town in this photo. The chain of office could tell you, if you could see the "jewel", or pendant badge close enough to see the coat of arms on it, but the photo may not have that type of resolution.