Transcript The versatility of bone, ivory and horn – their uses in

The versatility of bone, ivory and horn
-
their uses in the Sheffield cutlery industry
L’utilité d’os, d’ivoire et de corne
Dr Joan Unwin
Archivist to the Company of Cutlers in Hallamshire
Honorary Research Fellow, University of Sheffield
Bone, ivory and horn
L’os, l’ivoire et la corne
• Sheffield’s cutlery industry
• Manufacturing requirements
• The use of bone, ivory and horn
o
Archaeological evidence
o
Documentary evidence
o
Decorative cutlery handles
• Summary
The Versatility of Bone, Ivory and Horn
ICAZ, Paris, 2010
Blades require handles
Les lames ont besoin de manches
The Versatility of Bone, Ivory and Horn
ICAZ, Paris, 2010
Sheffield’s cutlery industry
L’industrie de fabrication de couteaux à Sheffield
1297 - Earliest recorded mention –‘Robert the cutler’
1624 - Act of Incorporation established
‘The Company of Cutlers in Hallamshire’
SHEFFIELD
• The Company controlled the craftsmen who made
items ‘that cut’
• Between 1624 and 1814, over 14,200 Freemen had been
registered by the Company
• In the 1851 Census, 9,500 men were described as
‘cutlers’
• PLUS all the subsidiary trades such as those preparing
materials for handles
The Versatility of Bone, Ivory and Horn
ICAZ, Paris, 2010
Manufacturing requirements
Contraintes de fabrication
Whittle tang knives
and forks
Scale tang knives
and forks
Spring knives and razors
also require scales
Handles have to be
solid with a hole bored
down the centre
Handles have to be made
of two flat-sided scales,
attached with rivets
The Versatility of Bone, Ivory and Horn
ICAZ, Paris, 2010
Limitations of the materials
Faiblesses des matériaux
Solid handles require thick, dense material
ivory
buffalo horn
Dense bone from the long bones is too thin
Scales can be made from all materials, often using
scrap pieces
ivory
bone
cattle horn
buffalo horn
Other handle materials include wood, pearl, tortoiseshell, stag, metals, agate, ceramics, and plastics
The Versatility of Bone, Ivory and Horn
ICAZ, Paris, 2010
Archaeological evidence
Les preuves archéologiques
Excavations around Sheffield have recovered hundreds of
part-finished handles, as well as scrap pieces.
Almost all is bone
ARCUS excavation,
Morton’s site, Sheffield, 2002
Excavation Savile Street, 2007
York Archaeological Trust
Excavation Portobello, 2009
Northampton Archaeology
The Versatility of Bone, Ivory and Horn
Excavation Upper Allen Street,
ARCUS 2008
ICAZ, Paris, 2010
Reconstruction of bone working
Chaine opératoire
Bone ends removed
Shaft is sawn to
length
Evidence for the use of
long bones, shoulder
blades and ribs,
producing thin scales
Dense bone is sawn
from around the
marrow and trimmed
Bone samples from ARCUS sites on the Sheffield Inner Relief Road
The Versatility of Bone, Ivory and Horn
ICAZ, Paris, 2010
Documentary evidence (1)
Documents d’archives
The Company’s Storehouse, 1681 stock of ivory
Ivory supplied by Mr Guillams, London
36 teeth [tusks]
worth £10.10.9
(£1,403 at 2008 prices)
costing £67.8.9
(£8,984 at 2008 prices)
66 teeth and 2 parcels
almost a ton in weight
Sheffield probate inventories, 1680s-1740s
possessions on death indicating the size of the trade in bone, ivory and horn
George Harrison, a cutler, died in 1690
ffoure tortes knives
6 olivante spring knives
3 dozen horn spring knives
6 tortes knives
17 dozen of horn scale
a stone and a half of horne scale
39½ lb of Tortose
The Versatility of Bone, Ivory and Horn
John Shirtcliffe, a cutler, died in 1713
1000 beef bones
a parcel of ivory teeth
a parcel of ivory hafts unwrought
ICAZ, Paris, 2010
Documentary evidence (2)
Documents d’archives
Sheffield probate inventories, 1680s-1740s
possessions indicating the process of horn pressing
1690
17 dozen horn scales
3 dozen plain knives to press
2 vices
1714
a parcel of rams horn
a pressing vice
1729
300 of horns;
2 pressing vices and 12 pair of presses
1732
a parcel of scales
4 pairs of presses
a vice
Courtesy – The Hawley Collection Trust, Sheffield
The Versatility of Bone, Ivory and Horn
ICAZ, Paris, 2010
Documentary evidence (3)
Documents d’archives
Sheffield Flood, 1864 - 250 people died
Evidence for bone, ivory and horn working from
the claims for compensation
Dale Dyke Dam. Image - PictureSheffield
Examples of loss of material and tools
Examples of rates of pay
21 tons bone shanks
4 tons bone sawings
Claim for loss of earning because of
damage to many tenement factories
£14/ton (£8,900 at 2008 prices)
£8/ton (£5,000 at 2008 prices)
bone scales auctioned for £53 (£33,700 at 2008 prices)
4,500 horn scales
700 horn cuts
Ranged from 4/- to 7/- per day for
bone cutters
(equivalent using average earning =
£127.00 to £222.00 per day at 2008 prices)
8 circular saws
The Versatility of Bone, Ivory and Horn
ICAZ, Paris, 2010
Documentary evidence (4)
Documents d’archives
Joseph Rodgers and Sons – early 20th century
Hale Brothers warehouse book, c.1900
Images from
firms’ histories
warehouse ledgers
trade catalogues
giving information about
work practices
styles of handles
prices
The Versatility of Bone, Ivory and Horn
Thomas Turner catalogue, c.1900
ICAZ, Paris, 2010
Decoration of bone, ivory and horn handles
Décoration de manches en os, ivoire et corne
bone
ivory
horn
Examples of horn and ivory handles often survive in collections
Examples of bone handles usually come from excavations
The Versatility of Bone, Ivory and Horn
ICAZ, Paris, 2010
Summary
Résumé
the cutlery industry requirements are for solid handles and thin scales
•
the structure and composition of bone, ivory and horn determine use
•
bone appears to be the most common, providing thin scales
•
ivory and horn can be used for solid handles and scales
•
excavated finds and documentary resources indicate
work practices
supplies
costs
•
decorated handles surviving in collections indicate
skill
styles
The Versatility of Bone, Ivory and Horn
ICAZ, Paris, 2010
Acknowledgements
Remerciements
Images courtesy of :
The Company of Cutlers in Hallamshire
The Hawley Collection Trust
Picture Sheffield
ARCUS
Northampton Archaeology;
Wessex Archaeology
York Archaeological Trust
Unpublished material
The Cutlers’ Company
Storehouse records, 1680-1683;
Hale Brothers book, c.1900,
The Borthwick Institute, University of York
Probate records,
References :
Lawrence H. Officer, "Purchasing Power of British Pounds from 1264 to Present,” 2009.
Joseph Rodgers ‘Under Five Sovereigns’, 1905
Thomas Turner trade catalogue, c.1900
Geoffrey Tweedale ‘The Sheffield Knife Book’, 1996
Sheffield Flood Claims Archive at http://www2.shu.ac.uk/sfca/
Picture Sheffield at http://www.picturesheffield.com
The Versatility of Bone, Ivory and Horn
ICAZ, Paris, 2010
Versatility of bone, ivory and horn
L’utilité de l’os, de l’ivoire et de la corne
Thank you
Merci
The Versatility of Bone, Ivory and Horn
ICAZ, Paris, 2010