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"Bird" Anvil

Date1750-1770

Maker Samuel Bird

MediumIron and steel

DimensionsLength: 20 1/8" Width:10" Height: 11 1/4"

Credit LinePartial Gift, Steven Mengel and Museum Purchase

Object number2013-89

DescriptionHorned anvil of common form with a "fifth foot" below the maker's signature, no table, a hardie hole, and concave sides.
Label TextVery few 18th c. blacksmith’s tools are maker-marked. This large anvil carries the name “BIRD” cast into one of the sides above an extra, or “fifth” foot. Samuel Bird, a London-based maker, is known to have supplied an anvil to a Louisa County, Virginia blacksmith in 1759.
Markings"BIRD" cast into one side.