Colonial anvil

[Henry Irving]

It's not like I really needed another anvil, but.... I picked this 5th toe colonial up around York, PA, today.  It overweighted a 232 lb capacity scale and is in my opinion in excellent condition.  I have long thought most colonial anvils were somewhere on the order of 100 lbs.  If this assumption is correct, does anyone have an educated guess on what this anvils early life may have looked like?  Dimensions are 13 1/2 x 5 1/2 x 10 1/2" tall.  Heel to tip of horn is 19 3/4".

[Frank Turley]

Quote

I can only say...beautiful!

 

[ThomasPowers]

large industrial use---think anchor forging for an example

[the iron dwarf]

made in sheffield England, we have one slightly smaller which is the main shop anvil.

john who knows more about it than me and knows about the maker will prob be posting here later

[Dano83]

Amazing.... never thought anybody would drink wild cherry Diet Pepsi...  oh yah, nice anvil too

[Copper Elf]

It was made in Sheffield, I believe it was made by Alsop.  It would have been made between 1700 and 1780 (that's when they stopped putting on the fifth foot).  It's designed for heavy work by a striker standing on the side of the extra foot, you may find the face slopes slightly down toward that edge too.  If it is anything like mine you will find it a "quiet" anvil to work on, more of a thud than a ring, the mass and shape not vibrating as much as other anvils which is a good thing if you're striking at it all day!  I have heard of ones with cutting tables but never seen one, but they were only made for a short time.  I have seen them without a bick too.  My bick has been used as a cutting table over the years.  These things are definite work horses for heavy work, even the heels are so short they can take a massive pounding.

[the iron dwarf]

thank you John, this one has a much clearer makers mark than yours ( which for several cleanings and years of use yours has only recently been revealed ).

will check measurements tomorrow and think it is 154 pounds

[Copper Elf]

Mine is 11" long, 5" wide with a 6" long bick, can't remember the height.  It is approx 150lb in weight.

[Henry Irving]

I appreciate everyone who has replied.

Copper Elf, may I ask what points to Alsop as the manufacturer?  Is the S above the 5th toe common to all or most manufacturers from Sheffield in the 18th century?  And yes, the face slopes toward the 5th toe.  Curiously the face broadens from about 5 1/2 inches near the bick to about 6 inches at the heel.

[Copper Elf]

To best of my knowledge Samual Alsop was the largest (only?) maker of 5th foot anvils and the "S" is their early makers mark.  Alsop had a number of foundries in Sheffield, this is how they moved around and name changes:

Samuel Alsop Founder & anvil maker Sheffield Moor, 1787
John Alsop Anvil maker South Street, 1791
William Alsop Anvil maker South Street, 1811
William & John Alsop Anvil makers Earl Street, 1821
William & John Alsop Whitesmiths & anvil makers 21 South Street, 1822
William & John Alsop Anvil makers 21 South Street and 1 Earl Street, 1828
William & John Alsop Anvil makers South Street, 1829 (last entry in Pigot's Commercial Directory - 1828 to 1829, after that the company disappears)

[the iron dwarf]

12 hours ago, Henry Irving said:

I appreciate everyone who has replied.

Copper Elf, may I ask what points to Alsop as the manufacturer?  Is the S above the 5th toe common to all or most manufacturers from Sheffield in the 18th century?  And yes, the face slopes toward the 5th toe.  Curiously the face broadens from about 5 1/2 inches near the bick to about 6 inches at the heel.

can you show us a single sheffield anvil with the S mark not made by Alsop, for example a peter wright or any of the other dozens of makers.

and it is a 5th foot not toe ( you may like to check primary sources for that )

The stylized S is the makers mark on early Alsop anvils not on any others

both me and John have visited sheffield foundries and know a little bit about them and their products, what are your sources so we can verify where they got the false details from and can correct them

[Henry Irving]

Iron Dwarf,

That you and the Copper Elf have visited Sheffield foundries and know a little about them and their products is precisely why I'm going to mine y'all for all the information I can get.  I have no primary sources other than the two colonial anvils I own and one of them doesn't have any discernible marks.  Of course I have Anvils in America but that is only a starting point and further investigation is always warranted.  Postman refers to your 5th foot by both terms, i.e. foot and toe (see page 14).  If he designated the S a makers mark I missed it.  He thought it meant Sheffield (AIA, pg. 16), hence my question about how broadly it was used.  Anvilfire.com says this, "The S anvils have several unique features that mark them as coming from the same British manufacturer. Face slope, rectangular handling holes and the bold fifth foot."  Anvilfire doesn't name the company, but if that manufacturer is Alsop, so be it.  I have not seen a sufficiently large sample of these wonderful anvils to draw a reliable conclusion and defer to y'all.