Shears Collection

The Flemish Proverbs (oil on canvas)
BAL67235 The Flemish Proverbs (oil on canvas) by Brueghel, Pieter the Younger (c.1564-1638); 119.6x164 cm; Johnny van Haeften Gallery, London

Advertisement for Trades Unionists Sheep Shear Co-operative Society steel sheep shears, Brunswick Works, Eldon Street
Original at Sheffield City Archives BandB/125

Engraving depicting right-angled and parrot-nosed shears, 19th century
5309370 Engraving depicting right-angled and parrot-nosed shears, 19th century; (add.info.: Engraving depicting right-angled and parrot-nosed shears)

The Clasp Maker's Workshop. By Jost Amman, 16th century (woodcut)
529948 The Clasp Maker's Workshop. By Jost Amman, 16th century (woodcut); Universal History Archive/UIG.

Shearing the Sheep, c. 1820. Creator: Henry Singleton
Shearing the Sheep, c. 1820. Attributed to Henry Singleton

Tailor's Shears and Iron, c. 1939. Creator: John Bodine
Tailor's Shears and Iron, c. 1939

Trimming Shears, 1935/1942. Creator: Harold Ballerd
Trimming Shears, 1935/1942

Garden Tools, Spades, Forks, Hoes, Shears, Rakes and Knives. 19th century

Historiated initial N depicting sheep shearing, from the Historia Naturalis (vellum)
XIR125865 Historiated initial N depicting sheep shearing, from the Historia Naturalis (vellum) by Italian School, (15th century); Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana, Venice

The Fates Gathering in the Stars, 1887. Creator: Elihu Vedder
The Fates Gathering in the Stars, 1887. Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos weave stars into a magicl textile to control the destiny and lifespan of human beings

Furze-Cutting on a Suffolk Common, c. 1883 / 87, printed 1888. Creator: Peter Henry Emerson
Furze-Cutting on a Suffolk Common, c. 1883/87, printed 1888. A work made of photogravure, pl. xiii from the album " pictures of east anglian life" (1888)

Iron and Steel (engraving)
5221744 Iron and Steel (engraving) by English School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Iron and Steel. From Illustrations of Useful Arts and Manufactures by Charles Tomlinson (SPCK)

The Knife Grinder (engraving)
3646677 The Knife Grinder (engraving) by Amman, Jost (1539-91) (after); Private Collection; (add.info.: The Knife Grinder)

The processes and apparatus of taxidermy (litho)
6013434 The processes and apparatus of taxidermy (litho) by English School, (20th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: The processes and apparatus of taxidermy)

Needlemaker (engraving)
2801989 Needlemaker (engraving) by English School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Needlemaker. Illustration for An Illustrated Vocabulary For The Use Of The Deaf And Dumb (SPCK)

Photograph of Crown & Shears PH, Minories, London. The main side of the print (shown here) depicts: Left Face on view of the pub

Saxon, shears, marsh dagger, brown-spot pinion, white-line
Saxon moth, Hyppa rectilinea 1, shears moth, Hada plebeja 2, 3, marsh dagger, Acronicta strigosa 4, brown-spot pinion, Agrochola litura 5, white-line dart, Euxoa nigrofusca 6, Opigena polygona 7

Grey shoulder knot, flounced chestnut and conformist
Grey shoulder knot, Lithophane ornitopus 1, 2, flounced chestnut, Agrochola helvola 3-5, conformist, Lithophane furcifera 6-9

Selection of tools: L-R: early Iron Age bronze axe with bent-over wings; later iron axe
AMQ185030 Selection of tools: L-R: early Iron Age bronze axe with bent-over wings; later iron axe; knife with a bone handle; bone needle; bone awl; iron shears by Iron Age; Ashmolean Museum

Sheep Shearing (oil on canvas)
HOL243520 Sheep Shearing (oil on canvas) by Barker of Bath, Thomas (1769-1847); 58.5x44.5 cm; The Holburne Museum, Bath, UK; eHolburne Museum; English, out of copyright

Assortment of gardening tools, from the Encyclopedie des Sciences et Metiers
STC243951 Assortment of gardening tools, from the Encyclopedie des Sciences et Metiers by Denis Diderot (1713-84) published c.1770 (engraving) by French School

Gardener (engraving)
2801973 Gardener (engraving) by English School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Gardener. Illustration for An Illustrated Vocabulary For The Use Of The Deaf And Dumb (SPCK)

The Nile Expedition, Preparing for the Advance at Wady Halfa (litho)
1051006 The Nile Expedition, Preparing for the Advance at Wady Halfa (litho) by English School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: The Nile Expedition)

The Cartagena Insurrection (engraving)
1049138 The Cartagena Insurrection (engraving) by Nash, Joseph (d.1922); Private Collection; (add.info.: The Cartagena Insurrection)

The Cloth Shearer (engraving)
3646641 The Cloth Shearer (engraving) by Amman, Jost (1539-91) (after); Private Collection; (add.info.: The Cloth Shearer)

A Bundle of Truths, 1811 (hand-coloured engraving)
2562170 A Bundle of Truths, 1811 (hand-coloured engraving) by Cruikshank, George (1792-1878); Private Collection; The Stapleton Collection; English, out of copyright

Shearing sheep and trimming pigs, c. 1610 (oil on canvas)
REV407331 Shearing sheep and trimming pigs, c.1610 (oil on canvas) by Brueghel, Pieter the Younger (c.1564-1638); Museo Soumaya, Mexico City, Mexico; Flemish, out of copyright

Ms 322 f. 3v, June, a man weeding, illustration from the De Brailes Psalter, c
476947 Ms 322 f.3v, June, a man weeding, illustration from the De Brailes Psalter, c.1250 (vellum) by Brailes, William de (fl.c.1230); Courtesy of the Warden and Scholars of New College

The Three Fates: Lachesis, Atropos and Klotho, 1513 (woodcut)
5858419 The Three Fates: Lachesis, Atropos and Klotho, 1513 (woodcut) by Grien, Hans Baldung (1484/5-1545); 21.8A--17.3 cm; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA; German, out of copyright

Supplementary Militia, turning out for Twenty Days Amusement, pub
3035675 Supplementary Militia, turning out for Twenty Days Amusement, pub. 1796 (hand coloured engraving) by Gillray, James (1757-1815); Private Collection; The Stapleton Collection; English

The "Hand and Shears, "a case before the court of Pie-Poudre, from a drawing dated 1811 (engraving)
3636375 The " Hand and Shears, " a case before the court of Pie-Poudre, from a drawing dated 1811 (engraving) by English School

Tailor (engraving)
2802006 Tailor (engraving) by English School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Tailor. Illustration for An Illustrated Vocabulary For The Use Of The Deaf And Dumb (SPCK)

Coppersmith (engraving)
2801961 Coppersmith (engraving) by English School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Coppersmith. Illustration for An Illustrated Vocabulary For The Use Of The Deaf And Dumb (SPCK)

Oil and Floor Cloth Manufacturer (engraving)
2801990 Oil and Floor Cloth Manufacturer (engraving) by English School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Oil and Floor Cloth Manufacturer)

Jeweller (engraving)
2801983 Jeweller (engraving) by English School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Jeweller. Illustration for An Illustrated Vocabulary For The Use Of The Deaf And Dumb (SPCK)

Cutler and File-Cutter (engraving)
2801964 Cutler and File-Cutter (engraving) by English School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Cutler and File-Cutter)

Samson and Delilah (w / c)
PWI82610 Samson and Delilah (w/c) by Moreau, Gustave (1826-98); Musee Gustave Moreau, Paris, France; ePeter Willi; French, out of copyright

Testing the New Shears at Chatham Extension Dockyard (engraving)
1613635 Testing the New Shears at Chatham Extension Dockyard (engraving) by English School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Testing the New Shears at Chatham Extension Dockyard)

Charioteer Snip on Rising Ground, 1890 (hand-coloured engraving)
2562185 Charioteer Snip on Rising Ground, 1890 (hand-coloured engraving) by Cruikshank, George (1792-1878); Private Collection; The Stapleton Collection; English, out of copyright

Roofing shears (chromolitho)
977654 Roofing shears (chromolitho) by French School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Roofing shears. French educational card, late 19th/early 20th century.); © Look and Learn

The Hand & Shears, Smithfield, London (colour litho)
976295 The Hand & Shears, Smithfield, London (colour litho) by Maggs, J.C. (1819-96); Private Collection; (add.info.: The Hand & Shears, Smithfield, London)

The village farrier (blacksmith) sharpening a pair of garden shears at his wheel, Pangbourne, Berkshire, England. Date: 1950s

The Feast of Peleus, mid-late 19th century. Creator: Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones
The Feast of Peleus, mid-late 19th century

Sheepshearing, 1853. Creator: Jacques-Adrien Lavieille
Sheepshearing, 1853

The Sheepshearer, 19th century. Creator: Henry Linton
The Sheepshearer, 19th century. After Jean-Francois Millet

The Holy Family in Egypt, with Joseph as a carpenter in the background at left, [1577], republished 1774

Libbretto nouellamete composto per maestro Domenico da Sera... lauorare di ogni s
Libbretto nouellamete composto per maestro Domenico da Sera...lauorare di ogni sorte di punti, title page (recto), April 12, 1532. [Title page with domestic scenes and textile production]

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"Shears: A Timeless Tool for Various Trades and Artistic Expressions" From the iconic painting "The Flemish Proverbs" to an advertisement for the Trades Unionists Sheep Shear Co-operative Society, they have played a significant role in history. Dating back to the early 1900s, steel sheep shears from Brunswick Works were essential tools for farmers and craftsmen alike. In the 1970s, mobile grinders revolutionized the maintenance of these versatile instruments. Gardeners relied on shears alongside spades, forks, hoes, rakes, and knives to shape their green havens into works of art. Even during grand events like Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee in 1897 at La Plata Works, souvenir menus showcased the importance of shearing as they celebrated her reign. Burgon and Balls La Plata Works witnessed motor cars parked outside its premises while producing top-quality shears. The historical photograph "Slaves Going to Church" captured a glimpse of life on Bryan Plantation in South Carolina during the 1860s when even such simple tools had profound significance. Sheep-shearing scenes adorned ancient manuscripts like Historiated initial N from Historia Naturalis or Elihu Vedder's captivating artwork "The Fates Gathering in the Stars. " These depictions highlighted both practicality and symbolism associated with this timeless tool. Furthermore, Peter Henry Emerson's print titled "Furze-Cutting on a Suffolk Common" immortalized furze-cutters wielding their trusty shears amidst picturesque landscapes. Engravings showcasing iron and steel production emphasized how these materials shaped not only blades but also entire industries. Lastly, let us not forget William Hogarth's famous engraving "The Knife Grinder, " which depicted a tradesman sharpening various blades including those used by shearers. This artwork symbolizes hard work and dedication required to maintain these indispensable tools throughout history. They have transcended time and artistic expressions.