Blacksmithing display at Dumfries Museum

  Blacksmithing display, Dumfries Museum, 2019.   This display shows the door and bellows from Caerlaverock Close smithy, Dumfries. These were removed from the smithy in 1977 before it was demolished.   They are now on display in Dumfries Museum alongside a selection of blacksmithing tools, some of which were collected by Dr Kissling whilst he was taking photographs.   If you look closely at the door you can see where apprentice blacksmiths have carved their names and initials into the wood.   Dr Werner Kissling (1895-1988) was a German photographer and ethnographer who spent most of his life documenting Scottish crafts, architecture, and agricultural practices. He was associated with Dumfries Museum from the mid-1950s until his death in 1988.