RootsChat.Com
Some Special Interests => Occupation Interests => Topic started by: paulmh on Tuesday 12 October 04 10:56 BST (UK)
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Going on the 'Watchmakers' thread, I have found a few members of my Holland family who were Silver Burinsher's, I am not sure what this job is.
i too would like to know more about the job and the people who did it (ie my family), however my problem lies with the fact that this line of family are from Sheffield.
Anyone who knows the area will know that it was a big steel industury, that is why Sheffield is know as 'The Steel City' and Sheffield United at one point were nicknamed 'The Cutlers' but now 'The Blades'.
Anyway I wonded if anyone else and any ancestors who did the same job and knew more.
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Paul,
I don't have any ancestors that I know of who did this, but they polished silver. I would imagine they finished the silver articles, polishing them to a really high shine finish.
Nell
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Burnisher means Polisher. Sheffield was not only the home of steel cutlery but also of Sheffield Silver Plate.
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True, but does anyone know anything about this particular occupation, im sure someone else must have come across this aswell.
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Some reading matter for you.
The one area that does remain constant in both censuses is the occupation of my great great grandmother SARAH WOOD. Her occupation is given as "Silver Burnisher" which was considered to be a particularly dirty and labour intensive trade. it was in effect the final process in the creation of Sheffield plate. This process gave the piece a highly polished look and aided in the concealment of impurities. A piece was first cleaned and smeared with soft soap before the process began. A mixture of white Calais sand and water were rubbed into the piece to remove any grease and dirt. An agate burnisher was used to rapidly move back and forth over the metal to remove scratches. The pores of the silver were closed by using a steel burnisher, which gave the piece a bright surface. Final burnishing was done with bloodstone, which produced a surface that was difficult to tarnish. A mirror-like finish was then rubbed into the piece using wet rouge and dried with soft, old linen. (Old Sheffield Plate, Shire Publications, Annere Bambery)
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Paul,
I see you are in Sheffield, where I was also born. Can I suggest that when you have a few hours to spare you visit Kelham Island Museum - they have a website - it is just off Nursery Street. There you can learn all about the 'Buffer Girls' who worked for the 'Little Mesters'.
Do you know Howard Street ? I recall looking down into the cellar rooms all along there and you could see the buffer girls working - and a rare breed they were! They did an extremely dirty job in far from pleasant surroundings - I could never understand why they mostly wore white, including turban like headscarves!
Jill
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I have been before 9just down the road from the Pig Sty (Hillsborough)), however I last went in 1996 prior to European Championships as they were having an exhibition their. I will have to go there again some day.
I still live in the area, Barnsley in fact so it isn't that difficult to get to.
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hi
I have a great great mother and her daughter. they were also Burnishers. they live in Sheffield.
I am sure that is silver .
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hi, My great great mother and her daughter were also silver Burnisher in Sheffield.
(I am also from Holland)