The Industrial Arts in Spain Part 23

Jose Lopez.

Diego Ventura.

Benito San Martin.

Juan Santos.

Francisco Lopez, a great artist, gunsmith of King Charles III., in 1761.

Jose Cano.

Diego Alvarez, 1775.

Joaquin Celaya.

Salvador Cenarro, 1762.

Antonio Gomez, 1762.

Pedro Ramirez.

Agustin Bustindui.

Sebastian Santos.

Pedro Fernandez.

Gabriel de Algora.

Agustin Ortiz, 1761.

Miguel Cegarra, 1768.

Francisco Lopez.

Francisco Garcia, 1788.

Isidoro Soler, 1792.

Francisco Targarona, 1792.

Gregorio Lopez, 1792.

Agustin Ortiz.

Pedro Fernandez.

Carlos Rodriguez.

Antonio Navarro.

Diego Alvarez.

Valentin Lopez.

Juan de Soto.

Carlos Montargis, 1783.

Manuel Cantero, 1792.

Hilario Mateo.

Antonio Gomez.

Juan Lopez.

Ramon Martinez.

Basilio Escalante.

Manuel Soler.

Melchor Alvarez, the first gunsmith who forged spiral cannon in Spain, and made double-barrelled guns.

Gregorio Lopez.

Aquilino Aparicio.

Ramon Zuloaga.

Eusebio Zuloaga.

*** The marks used by these artists are given in plate 9 of "Catalogo de la Armeria de Madrid," 1849.

Daggers, knives, scissors, and other small arms made in Spain, have been famous from early times. A good example of a dagger is No. 2238, 55 at the Kensington Museum. A great number of towns have been distinguished for this industry, such as Albacete, Murcia, Alcazar de San Juan, and Guadix, where even in the present day much cutlery is produced. The cutlery made in Spain preserves the traditional Moorish forms. Al Makkari says, in speaking of these objects, in his "Moham. Dyn. in Spain," vol. i., p. 93:--"Murcia was likewise famous for the manufacture of coats of mail, breast-plates, and steel armour inlaid with gold; all kinds of instruments of bra.s.s and iron, such as knives, scissors, and other trinkets, and especially weapons and other warlike instruments, wrought in such perfection as to dazzle with their brightness the eyes of the beholder." The translator adds, p. 393: "Several towns in the province are renowned for this industry. At Albacete there are several manufactures of well-tempered scissors, daggers, and knives, which, from the shape of their blades, betray their Moorish origin. Since the expulsion of the Moriscos, the Spaniards have kept up this manufacture, and daggers and knives of the end of the last century are often met with bearing Arabic inscriptions and verses from the Koran. I have seen one which on one side has the following inscription, 'I shall certainly kill thy enemies with the help of G.o.d,' and on the reverse, 'Fabrica de Navajas de Antonio Gonzalez, Albacete, 1705.'"

Sr. Rico y Sinovas has published an interesting article on ironwork in the "Almanaque de el Museo de la Industria," 1872. He gives the names of the following artists who were famous in this industry.

Aguas, Juan; he worked at Guadix in 1735.

Albacete, signed Cel, 18th century.

Ambrosio, worked at Mora in the 18th century.

Arbell, Ramon, worked at Olot, Cataluna, in the 17th century.

Beson, Manuel, worked at Madrid.