Ingenious

A group of representatives of the lead miners (in the centre of the sketch, labelled 'delegates'), talking to managers (with hats on). This is one of a set of 66 watercolours and pen and ink sketches of aspects of lead mining in the area by various artists, assembled from two related stitched volumes of contemporary work. These volumes show scenes of all aspects of lead mining above and below ground, the processing of ore, its transport by horse, the tools and the life of the lead miners. They are set possibly in Alston Moor, Northumberland, or Allendale - certainly in the north-east Pennines - with a manuscript dissertation 'On the Washing of Lead Ore' and a related figured diagram of a proposed vessel.