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A Brief Mention of Brass RubbingOrginally Published in the Feb/Mar 2002 issue of the Owl, Skeldegate's newsletter. 
The cover of this issue of the Owl is a likeness of a brass rubbing of Lady Margaret Frances Payton, second wife of Sir Thomas Peyton. It is a part of the brass monumental honouring her and her husband, created around 1484, in Isleham, Cambridgeshire, England. I have my own small version of this adorning my wall and I have often wonder how it found its way to the antique shop where I found it. Unfortunately, I may never know that but here is what I do know about brass rubbings. Between the 14th and 17th Centuries, it was fashionable to create a monument commemorating various members of the upper class. They are were place as adornment in walls or foundations of the many churches around England and Europe. It was very expensive to make a brass monument as there was little brass alloy available in England. Square sheets three inches thick had to be hauled over from France. The late middle ages were a time of great change and the brasses reflect the many different designs of the Gothic, Renaissance, Elizabethan and Reformation periods. One can see period dress, armour styles and symbolic customs. For example, Margaret Payton wears a beautiful brocade gown and butterfly headdress that is easily copied by modern re-creationists. Her husband, Sir Thomas Payton wears a good example of “German Gothic Armour”. The art of Brass Rubbings was originally started to conserve a record of the English brasses. To create a rubbing, one would place a piece of paper over the monument and rub wax over the figure to create an image—almost like scraping a crayon over paper on top of a leaf as we did as kids. The wax clings to the raised parts. It is very easy and creates a beautiful work of art. However, as the art became more popular, the brasses became less accessible. Some have deteriorated and some have disappeared completely. It is next to impossible to make a brass rubbing from an original monument but many tourist sites provide smaller reproductions of monuments that are just as nice (and take up less wall space!). So even if you don’t get over to England to make a brass rubbing of your own, watch for them in antique shops. That’s where I got mine! Some resources….. Websites British Brass Rubbings - A commercial venture that offers a variety of rubbings from reproduction brasses. Good information on the procress but may not be in business for much longer. A small collection of rubbings made by by the Oxford University Archaeological Society Available books from ABEBooks.com Beedell, Suzanne Brasses And Brass Rubbing, John Bartholomew and Son , Edinburgh , 1978 , 96 pages, illustrated with black and white drawings and photographs throughout, County lists, bibliography and index at rear. Busby, Richard J.: Beginners Guide To Brass Rubbing, London, Pelham Books, 1969. p. 128, b/w illust., Busby, Richard J.: A Companion Guide to Brasses and Brass Rubbing, London: Pelham, 1973. Bennett, Harold C. The History of Our Brasses, Lynton: The Exmoor Brass Rubbing Centre CLAYTON M. Catalogue of Rubbings of Brasses and Incised Slabs, London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 1929 BERTRAM, Jerome: Brasses and Brass Rubbing in England, UK: David & Charles, 1971 BERTRAM, JEROME LOST BRASSES, UK: David & Charles, 1976 Cloth. 1st Edition. 8vo. Tracing lost brasses and their history. Richard le Strange: A Complete Descriptive Guide to British Monumental Brasses, Thames & Hudson London 1972 Winifred Spinks: A Momento from Old England, Bardwell Suffolk 1977 H W Catling Notes on Brass-Rubbing, Ashmolean Museum SUFFLING, E.R. English Church Brasses. From the 13th to the 17th Century. A Manual for Antiquaries, Archaeologists and Collectors. L. Upcott Gill, Gittings, Clare Brasses and Brass Rubbing, Blandford Press London 1971 . 8vo, 104 pp. Volume on brasses and brass rubbing divided into three parts: How to Make and Collect Brass-Rubbings, What You See and Learn from Brass-Rubbing and How to Find and Indentify All Figure Brasses. Includes a list of all the figure brasses in churches throughout the British Isles, information on the Monumental Brass Society and an index. Black and white plates and drawings. TRIVICK, Henry H. The Craft and Design of Monumental Brasses. With nearly 300 illustrations, including many in colour. John Baker, 1969. DRUITT, H. Costume on Brasses. A manual of costume as Illustrated by monumental brasses. Alexander Moring, 1906. 384pp. 96 Illustrations and frontispiece. Clayton, Muriel: CATALOGUE OF RUBBINGS OF BRASSES AND INCISED SLABS (HMSO London 2nd edn 1929 4th impression1968) NORRIS, Malcolm.: BRASS RUBBING London: Studio Vista, 1965. 1st edition. Small folio. Illustrated. Cook, Malcolm, Illustrated by Black/white Illus Discovering Brasses: a Guide to Monumental Brasses and Brass Rubbing Tring, Herts: Shire Publications, 1969 Paperback. JULIAN FRANKLYN.: BRASSES. 2nd edn (undated) 1969. Arco Publications - London. An authoratitive introduction to the fascinating subject of monumental brasses. Many illustrations. Meara, David.: VICTORIAN MEMORIAL BRASSES Routledge & Kegan Paul,1983 First Edition.173pp Felgate, T. M. Knights on Suffolk Brasses Ipswich, Suffolk, England: East Anglian Magazine Ltd. 1976 Journal of the Oxford University Brass-Rubbing Society Oxford: Hart 8vo. 6 issues 1897 to 1899, Volume 1 numbers 1 to 6 inclusive. |