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"Blacksmith's Shop"

(c) Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, Deerfield MA. All rights reserved.
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The photograph of the interior of a local blacksmith shop was taken about 1900 by Mary Electa Allen (1858-1941) of Deerfield, Massachusetts. George W. Shaw (1849-1927), of Deerfield, Massachusetts, is photographed at the forge in his blacksmith shop. The charcoal fire is powered by a bellows which he operates with his left hand while his right grasps a pair of tongs suspending an iron object, perhaps a horseshoe, in the fire. When the object has reached the desired temperature, it will be finished at the horn anvil in the center of the photograph. The only light in the room is from the fire and the windows. This permits the blacksmith to better gauge the temperature of the fire by noting its color. Note the lack of safety equipment in this era.

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