Roo

Thank you archiphile - this is indeed the painting I am working with. Currently sitting in Ipswich Museums and Galleries if anyone wanted to view it in person. Thanks also to the suggestion about contacting Ian at Stepney farm - I will get on it.

It is a very tempting idea to get a team of people together to replicate the picture, but it might be impossible! I can imagine it would be a lot of fun. I'd need to get hold of a lot of willing blacksmiths/anchorsmiths and Victorian clothing from somewhere... Good idea though.

John B, Gerald Boggs, Thomas Powers, Mark Emig, Bruce Wilcock, Bryan Willman, Rob Browne, Gadetoz, Francis Cole - Thank you all for your posts and helpful suggestions (I will acknowledge you in my thesis on completion in three years). I can see this forum is going to be very useful in the future, and I will definitely get a copy of that DVD! To answer Bryan's question a little, the artist I am exploring is Stanhope Forbes, a painter from Newlyn in Cornwall, who produced oil paintings of local people engaged in work - fishing, smithing, farriery, farming etc. There are three paintings that I am looking at , one of which is called Forging the Anchor, and was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1892. It shows 4 workman forging a 'fisherman' anchor (I believe), two with sledges, two holding the anchor in place on the anvil. Ipswich Museum currently have the painting but have no image archive at present. Once this is up and running, which they are doing at the moment but could take months, I will post a link on this forum to show you the painting. the painting shows a very active scene, with sledges held high, and workmen in positions showing strain and effort. The brightest part of the painting is the hot white arm of the anchor, where the strikers are forging. I am trying to upload the image I have but it isn't working. If I have any more questions, I'll be sure to post, You've all been really helpful - Thank you. Roo

Hello all, Are there any Blacksmiths out there who know about the processes involved in forging traditional 'fishermen' anchors? I am studying for a PhD in Art History, and am focusing on a specific painter who produced at least three paintings of men at work in forges during the nineteenth century. One of these paintings shows a group of Blacksmiths forging at the the anvil, a large anchor which glows white hot, and is the brightest part of the painting. In my research, I have not yet come across any text that talks about the forging of traditional anchors (or anchors in general really), the techniques employed, or what it might have meant to local/village Blacksmiths to make such a large and heavy item. Can anyone help, or perhaps direct me to somewhere which might yield more information? Many thank yous.