Brasses and Brass Rubbing

by Suzanne; Cook Beedell

A history of monumental brasses, with stunning examples throughout. Also featured is a detailed how-to on the process of brass rubbing.

96 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1973

Reviews

[David Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book I read to research this post was Brasses And Brass Rubbing by Suzanne Beedell which is an excellent guide to this subject which I bought from a local secondhand bookstore. This book has quite a bit of information on the history of brasses as well as being a how to guide. If you taking brass rubbings it is very important to always get permission. They also suggest using masking tape to hold the rubbing in place to avoid damaging the brass. Many of these brasses date from the 15th century and the work from various workshops around the country varies quite a bit in quality. The brass used in Britain was made up a little differently to that on the continent and tends to be a bit more shiny. As you probably know brass is an alloy. Much of the brasses in Britain were made in Ipswitch & Cambridge & there were also small workshops in Coventry. Many were tore up in the Reformation and on an even larger scale in Victorian times. The latter had a complete disregard for brasses and frequently just threw them out or melted them as scrap. Many were also overlaid with tiles or stone and many are waiting to be rediscovered. Although the Catholic church has never regarded animals as having souls in the early many wealthy people had brasses made to commerate their pet. Also some times animals like lions were added for decoration at the foot of the subject.