The Blacksmith

[Anthony]

Portrait of a demonstrator at the Black Country Outdoor Museum.

Despite appearances in this posed shot, he was a friendly and helpful person.

The main activity in this forge was making chains. In the olden days this forge would have been primarily used by a female chain maker, and situated in her back yard. The men did heavier work, but chain making was certainly very hard work.

[PeterN]

A wonderful document, Anthony! Your environmental portrait looks great: how heists, the lighting, context, etc.

[Jack Dahlgren]

He seems a bit oversized for his environment. I'm hoping the female chain makers did not spend all day bending over like that.

[Akira]

Anthony, the first posed portrait looks classic.  It immediately reminded of portraits from the era of Jean-François Millet.

He seems a bit oversized for his environment. I'm hoping the female chain makers did not spend all day bending over like that.

I felt exactly the same way when I saw the second image.

[Hugh_3170]

A forgotten science.  Nice images Anthony - reminds me of the blacksmiths still operating in my home town in NZ when I was a kid.  Great what they could do with what they had.

[Anthony]

Thank you, Peter, Jack, Akira and Hugh.

You are right about discomfort of the job.  The blacksmith himself made the point that he was too tall and had backache if he worked too long.