DAS Horse Brasses Collection
The use of horse brasses appears to have started in the West Country after the Napoleonic Wars and gradually spread. During the reign of Queen Victoria up to the start of the first world war they were much in evidence on fair days and other festivities. The largest number of brasses were made by casting between 1860 and 1890 up to 1914. In 1910 the largest producer of horse brasses ceased trading.
A large number of the brass designs are traceable back to ancient lucky symbols, which have long associations with the horse and the worship of sun and moon. It was a common belief that brasses gave protection from the effects of the 'evil eye'. They are a survival from the days when superstitions were rife and passed from generation to generation.
A large number of the brass designs are traceable back to ancient lucky symbols, which have long associations with the horse and the worship of sun and moon. It was a common belief that brasses gave protection from the effects of the 'evil eye'. They are a survival from the days when superstitions were rife and passed from generation to generation.
The press cutting below dates from 1948 and records a visit to the Dereham saddler’s shop of Mr G D Cook who collected the horse brasses shown above. The prize brass of his collection dated 1848 is mentioned in the article and can be seen on the first row, right side, above. A photograph of the shop can be seen below, with a close-up detail showing horse brasses for sale in the window. An earlier photograph of the shop under different ownership is also shown below.
The shop of G D Cook, 21 Market Place, Dereham
Page from the Dereham Town Guide of 1905
Horse in harness with brasses working in the timber yard of Hobbies in Dereham in c1923.