New border on the Home page

To those who regularly check out our site, you may have noticed a new border for the new products section. I am completely amazed at what can be achieved on the net, and we are now able to digitally reproduce 19th century borders and add them to the site. I have always felt that one should always be trying to incorporate the 19th century aesthetic into as much as possible, and by pure osmothsis, become sensitive to the subtleties of each particular era.

That particular border came from an original shako in our collection, that originally came from James Stamatellos. The world will never be the same without him, and the hobby lost a real friend in the collecting field. I saw this shako in Jim's house, and after expressing interest in it, he gave it to me.

As you can see by the enclosed image, it is from a Boston Trunk and Valise maker. We are very glad to be adding these details to the site.

X-Men Civil War scene!

If anyone happens to get to the theatre in the next few weeks, the current installment of the X-men movie has a Civil War scene. We have the pleasure of making the Federal uniforms worn by Liev Schreiber and Hugh Jackman. To those that do venture in, among the other items, you will see our Lincoln McDowell cap

Customer Portrait

We want to acknowledge achievements in this hobby, on both the personal or history related. We had the pleasure of meeting a local Mark Ducap, who is just starting out in the hobby, and thanks to meeting the right people, is starting out in the right way. By carefully making his purchases, he has assembled a top notch artillery impression.

What is very impressive about Mark, is not only the energy and enthusiasm that he has for the hobby, but also the personal transformation that he has made. One would not know it by seeing him, but through diet and exercise, in the span of a year, he gone from 312 lbs to 175. He is not only healthier, but also better able to enjoy this hobby.

In all of the years that I have been doing this, it has occured to me that it is the common interest that initially brings us all together. It is the friendships built from a common experience that keeps us coming together every year and looking forward to new events and experiences. Without really thinking about it, or planning to do so, we have arrived at the very same place that the original Civil War Veteran's themselves have. The comradarie was not only the impetus for the GAR it has also become the binding element of this hobby.

Knit Blouse Project

Although many have expressed interest in the project, there was not enough confirmed orders to proceed and justify the outlay for the custom spun and dyed yarns. We need a minimum of 40 people to proceed, and if at some point, we can get enough interest, the project can be reactivated.

Our own Forum launched!

In response to the playground level pushing and shoving that traspires on various forums, we have embarked upon launching our own forum. There are heavily censored forums, as well as pure political glad handing that we seek to avoid. There is a very frank approach to the 19th century material culture pursuits in the hobby.

No matter what, feel free to take a look and sign up if you are so inclined.

NJ Sekela forum

An NJ Sekela first!! TWO EVENTS ON THE SAME WEEKEND!!

Going to New Market!

We are very proud to be among the exhibitors at the New Market reenactment on May 17-19th. We will have many of our products on hand, including caps by Greg Starbuck. We have also applied to have a book signing and presentation by Ron Coddington, and if it is approved, you will be able to have your copies of his fantastic books autographed right at the event.

If there is anything that you are looking for, please drop us a note, and we will make every effort to bring it along. Even if you stop by just to say hello, we would love to meet you! Look for our bright banner on sutler row!

Resaca Event!

Be sure to come see Lori and Robert Collett at Resaca May 17 - 19. We will have elastic suspenders, civilian pants, hand-tied cartridge tubes, wooden match safes, and several other new items including a Godey's smoking cap. You can get a sneak peek at these items at www.njsekela.com and even use the live chat feature to get more details. Of course they will have many of our usual items as well including forage caps, civilan shirts, ambulance corps arm bands, officer shoulder boards, and much much more. We are also expecting another shipment of Gardner canteens so stop by and say hi and look at these great items in person.

1). Reproductions of Federal Issue spurs, produced by the Horstmann Company of Philadelphia. These were made from an excavated spur purchased from the Horse Soldier, and is marked 'HORSTMANN' on the inside heel area.
	2). Confederate Officer's spur, with stars and "CS" on heel area.The original set of these spurs was offered in the past by the Horse Soldier.
	3). "Saw back" style of spur, produced AND marked "Tiffany and Company, New York". The original pair that these were based on were identified to Lt. Edw. Ross of the 2nd Illinois Light Artillery. The identical spur was offered in the Schuyler Hartley and Graham catalog.
	4). Elaborate officer's spurs with raised flor-de-lis pattern on the heel area. The detail in this spur is extremely high, not only because of the quality of the casting, but because the spur is "coined" in a die to bring up more detail after casting.
5). Eagle head officer's spur. In direct contrast to the extremely heavy 1/2 pound castings that are being imported from Pakistan, ours are being produced by US here in the United Stated. As per the "flor-de-lis" style, the detail is brought up much higher through coining. These are far more elegant and reflect the fine lines of the mid-nineteenth century. 6). Allegheny Arsenal Marked Federal Issue Spur-As per the others, taken directly from an excavated original that we have acquired. Completely manufactured in the United States and finished in our shops, this will be equivalent to all of the products that we offer.
7). Brass ID stencil kits. This is an item widely produced in the 19th century. Although we originally had intended to use this for soldier stencils, these stencils were also used by all facets of society, women, children, schools, businesses. This is one of the few items that touches all aspects of the hobby. There are examples of brass stencils with eagles and ornate banners. Bill McIntosh has a stencil in his collection with all of the names of the people in a family, and were used one at a time to mark. (The names not needed were simply covered over) Our kits will include brush and ink and will be in the $85-$90 range. Since the set up charge is the initial outlay, you can order a duplicate individual stencil (not the complete set) for $35. There is an initial minimum of 40 pieces for he run, and payment will confirm the order. We will not charge a single credit card or deposit a single check until they are ready to ship, but since they are each personalized, we need a very firm commitment.
	8). Fencing bayonets-one of our friends asked us if it was something that we would consider,and we are very excited to undertake the project. The major hurdle will be finding whalebone or something that will serve the same purpose and retain the flexibility and outward appearance of the fencing blade.
9). Greg Starbuck's "collector's series" of Confederate caps. Greg has been researching and examining Confederate headgear since his teens. He is assembling a line of cherry examples of classic styles of Confederate caps. His Williamson cap is the first in this series, so check back often for the newest additions.
10). Kevin Hershberger/Lionheart films videos in stock! We have a large number of these titles in stock and can ship them the very same day ordered! Each one makes a great addition to your library and is the perfect gift for the loved on in the hobby.

Original Items Wanted!
Looking for German Percussion and Flintlock Muskets carbines and pistols, We are open to trade or cash for anything along these lines. Contact Nick directly at nick@njsekela.com for details.

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and counting

This has been an exciting year for us thus far and we are looking forward to meeting you in the field as well as introducing many more products. Every milestone that we hit is completely owing to our customers who we prefer to call loyal friends. I speak for all of us in saying that we are both grateful and are truly your servants. We could not get here without you and it is our mission to continue to offer you the best service and product line available in the history of this hobby.