I n v e s t i g a t e s t h e B e l o H o u s e At a lecture by Anne Howell, the
preeminent scholar of renowned Philadelphia ironworks owner Robert Wood, about work she had done attrib- uting ironwork in Wilmington, staff from Old Salem recognized that some of the items matched those at the Belo house and sent images for her opinion. She agreed that the patterns employed indicate that the cast iron was very simi- lar to Wood’s work. A comparison of the patterns advertised in his catalogs and work known to be his in other areas of the South verified Howell’s opinion. Nonetheless, several issues challenged the theory. First, there were significant
variations in the quality of the work. Second, a design anomaly and elements that were not included in the Wood pat- terns were identified. And finally, hand- carved wooden patterns of the unique fence posts were found tucked away in a storage room at the Belo house. These models were unnecessary if all of the cast iron was purchased from Wood. As a result, Old Salem determined that
Robert Wood did cast a portion of the fence panels and his work influenced some similar local designs. It now appears that Edward Belo used purchased Wood ironwork and cast his own versions of some of these models.
The picture on the left depicts the lower quality ironwork, the center image is true Robert Wood ironwork, and the forms seen in the picture on the right were found in Belo’s storage area.
by Kim Proctor
Their prevalence in the popular culture of the time, and the availability of resources necessary to duplicate them speak volumes about Belo and his role as a trend-setting Moravian industrialist in Old Salem. m
Kim Proctor worked at Old Salem as an intern in the Restoration Division. She is a graduate student at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro studying historic preservation.
Spring/Summer 2010
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