Robert Davidson, Blacksmith and his Daughter, Roxburghshire ca. 1897
Title
Robert Davidson, Blacksmith and his Daughter, Roxburghshire ca. 1897
Category
Metal Wares
Description
A photographic portrait of Robert Davidson (1845-1921), master blacksmith at Woodfoot, near Hawick, Roxburghshire with his second daughter, Mary, stood outside the lodge house and gate entrance to Stobs Castle, dated 1887 according to record, but, from the costume worn by the woman, probably a decade later.
Robert Davidson is dressed in his working clothes of heavy stripped collarless cotton shirt and waistcoat, with flat peaked cap and leather blacksmith’s apron over trousers and sturdy but dusty boots. His shirt sleeves are rolled up to the elbows and he strikes a pose typically seen among men involved in the physically demanding metal and building trades, with brawny arms crossed high on his chest and a penetrating stare. The full beard and walrus-styled moustache, though fashionable at the time, add a patriarchal air. His daughter is stylishly dressed in a bell shaped walking skirt and matching jacket, with gigot sleeves, tight waist and a flared peplum. She has a white shirt with stand-up collar and tie. This ensemble along with the flat straw hat is characteristic of the style of dress adopted by the later nineteenth century ‘new woman’.
Robert was descended from a long line of Roxburghshire blacksmiths. His grandfather, father and elder brother, all named Walter, were the blacksmiths who occupied the Newmill-on-Teviot smithy a few miles south of Hawick for most of the nineteenth century. A country blacksmith such as Robert Davidson would turn his hand to many different activities, such as shoeing horses, mending and making farm or local workshop equipment and fashioning tools for use by other craftsmen, such as hammers, knives, files and chisels. The Stobs Castle estate, from which he rented the cottage and workshop attached to the castle lodge would have generated much of his work.
Though the name of the photographer is unrecorded, he was probably an amateur who enjoyed taking photographs of local people and scenes and was possibly connected to the gentry family who lived in Stobs Castle. Craft portraits of the period showing artisans in their places of work with well-dressed female family members included in the composition are common, but the men are normally also in their Sunday-best, with aprons over good trousers and smart shoes. What is unusual in this image is the contrast between the smart young woman, proud of her fashionable costume and her equally proud and dignified father in the ordinary working clothes of the master blacksmith.
Robert Davidson is dressed in his working clothes of heavy stripped collarless cotton shirt and waistcoat, with flat peaked cap and leather blacksmith’s apron over trousers and sturdy but dusty boots. His shirt sleeves are rolled up to the elbows and he strikes a pose typically seen among men involved in the physically demanding metal and building trades, with brawny arms crossed high on his chest and a penetrating stare. The full beard and walrus-styled moustache, though fashionable at the time, add a patriarchal air. His daughter is stylishly dressed in a bell shaped walking skirt and matching jacket, with gigot sleeves, tight waist and a flared peplum. She has a white shirt with stand-up collar and tie. This ensemble along with the flat straw hat is characteristic of the style of dress adopted by the later nineteenth century ‘new woman’.
Robert was descended from a long line of Roxburghshire blacksmiths. His grandfather, father and elder brother, all named Walter, were the blacksmiths who occupied the Newmill-on-Teviot smithy a few miles south of Hawick for most of the nineteenth century. A country blacksmith such as Robert Davidson would turn his hand to many different activities, such as shoeing horses, mending and making farm or local workshop equipment and fashioning tools for use by other craftsmen, such as hammers, knives, files and chisels. The Stobs Castle estate, from which he rented the cottage and workshop attached to the castle lodge would have generated much of his work.
Though the name of the photographer is unrecorded, he was probably an amateur who enjoyed taking photographs of local people and scenes and was possibly connected to the gentry family who lived in Stobs Castle. Craft portraits of the period showing artisans in their places of work with well-dressed female family members included in the composition are common, but the men are normally also in their Sunday-best, with aprons over good trousers and smart shoes. What is unusual in this image is the contrast between the smart young woman, proud of her fashionable costume and her equally proud and dignified father in the ordinary working clothes of the master blacksmith.
Image copyright
National Museums Scotland
Item Location
National Museum Scotland
Files
Citation
“Robert Davidson, Blacksmith and his Daughter, Roxburghshire ca. 1897,” Artisans in Scotland, accessed October 15, 2025, http://www.artisansinscotland.shca.ed.ac.uk/items/show/21.