Why are the Majority of lockplates in posed Images facing inward?

[YankeeTiger]

Forgive me if this has been discussed as the search function provided me with a wealth of musket and lockplate threads, none of which were related to this subject.

Also forgive me if this is something I "should already know.." But I don't.


copying from my fb acct:

Who wants to educate me on why ALMOST every single image of a soldier with a rifle has the lockplate facing in? There are rare exceptions I am finding (especially CS) but most of the Federal images I am seeing on the LOC site have the guys with their lockplates facing towards them while posing...
Please Educate me my knowledgable bretheren...

Could it have to do with the camera/reflection or perhaps they were trained to protect the cone? Maybe to keep everything "lined" up correctly since the everything else would be reversed? I just don't know..

[LibertyHallVols]

Check out thsi guy:
I hope this link works!!!

[YankeeTiger]

Yes John, I've seen exceptions for sure..but the rule seems to absolutely be (at least with the 700+ LOC images) facing inward, especially when seated.. Perhapes posers preference?

[Archie R. Lib]

Just throwing it out there, but could it perhaps be because of the "rest" position in the manual of arms? Maybe they were just used to standing or placing their weapon that way during drill to "relax".

That's an easier position to wait for the camera shutter as opposed to attention and still presents a soldierly appearance?

R

[CompanyWag]

Maybe I'm missing something in the question here, but "hard" images like tintypes and ambrotypes are all reversed mirror images of reality and the sitters tried all kinds of tricks to make it look like they are holding the rifle in the correct direction...therefore the lockplate faces inward. In the link John shared the image looks to be a CDV, which being a paper print from a negative is not reversed like a mirror. Therefore the photographer or sitter didn't feel compelled to resort to tricks like holding a rifle backwards etc.

In some instances of hard images, I suspect the soldier merely sat for his image and couldn't give a rip whether the end result would be a backwards mirror image.

[huntdaw]

I would also like to draw attention to John's photo that the fellow has his little finger on his rammer - not the side of his hand, not the hand flat on it, but the little finger. Remember that boys. Many do not know how to properly replace the rammer.

[Curt Schmidt]

Hallo!

I am a bit muddled on the question.

If I am reading it and understanidng it correctly.... the question is a statement about the number of sittings where a longarm is held with its lock facing the camera and the viewer, versus the lock facing away form the camera towards the rear or the subject's chest.

My drivers are dead and I cannot pull up saved images. Perhaps other lads can post some "lock forward" and "lock rearward" images?

My "bias" in thinking about it is that the lockplate toward the camera/viewer is the more "NUG" and that the lock facing toward the subject or the rear is the exception(s). But without a survey or at least a decent sampling... I don't want to say or assert that obviously.


But yes, defiitely, (vanely) trying to reverse arms and kit to undo the "mirrior image" of the camera lens is also midly/fairly common.

Curt

[YankeeTiger]

Here are a few..I plan on actually going through the 737 Union ambros on the LOC website and counting outward v. inward...in the grand scheme of things, I suppose it isn't important..but in my quest to be omniscient, it helps.

Here goes.. (aside from this first one being Lewis Robinson's Doppleganger)

32095r.jpg

31122r.jpg

31123r.jpg

37544r.jpg

37115r.jpg

27339r.jpg

27338r.jpg

27315r.jpg

27293r.jpg

27289r.jpg

27248r.jpg

And it goes on and on and on....

[YankeeTiger]

Now for the other side of the 'equation' which seems to be the minority in this database of images...

Attachment 38763

Attachment 38764

Attachment 38765

Attachment 38771

Attachment 38766

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Attachment 38768

Attachment 38769

Attachment 38770

[Hank Trent]

Here's a thought. What about a survey of reenactor photos in similar poses of men holding rifles? Yeah, I know, reenactor photos are typically irrelevant, but in this case, if there's the same majority of men holding the lockplates in, it might show that there's a natural tendency to do so, that's not dependent on some odd period quirk.

Hank Trent
hanktrent@gmail.com