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Documenting Scottish Architectural Cast Iron in Argentina

Documenter l’architecture écossaise en fonte en Argentine
Lucia Juarez

Resúmenes

Este artículo analiza el proceso de documentación de las piezas y productos de hierro fundido localizados en Argentina pero fabricados por tres de las mayores empresas de fundición de Escocia: Carron Company, Saracen (Macfarlane) y Lion. El artículo se basa en datos procedentes principalmente de los archivos escoceses, y forma parte de un proyecto más amplio emprendido por la Universidad de Edimburgo junto con Historic Scotland, titulado «Comercio entre naciones: la arquitectura, el imperio informal y la industria escocesa del hierro fundido en Argentina Trading» (Nations: Architecture, Informal Empire, and the Scottish Cast Iron Industry in Argentina).
El periodo de mayor crecimiento demográfico de Argentina va de 1880 a 1930. Debido sobre todo a la inmigración europea, esta drástica transformación demográfica se acompañó del proceso de urbanización más intenso de su historia. Muchos de los edificios erigidos entre las décadas de 1850 y 1930 utilizaban hierro, y en especial el hierro fundido prefabricado, para edificios completos, partes estructurales, y objetos decorativos. Los elementos de hierro fundido, vendidos por catálogo, eran muy utilizados en Europa pero casi desconocidos en Argentina. El hierro fundido se convirtió en un elemento crucial del proceso de modernización.
Por entonces, Escocia gozaba de una posición preponderante en el sector del hierro prefabricado. En Latinoamérica, la rápida industrialización de Argentina, el crecimiento económico y la importancia estratégica del país para los intereses británicos lo convirtieron en un mercado importante para la fundición escocesa.
Algunos de estos vestigios de hierro fundido fabricados en Escocia y enviados a Argentina aún sobreviven en la actualidad, y forman parte de la arquitectura transnacional que representa un patrimonio común que aún no se conoce plenamente. Este artículo identifica algunos de los productos fabricados en Carron, Saracen, y Lion, las empresas de fundición de hierro más importantes de Escocia.

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This project is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (uk) in conjunction with Historic Scotland as part of the Collaborative Doctoral Scheme administered by Research Councils uk.

Introduction

1Argentina, from its earliest years as a newly independent nation, made an effort to incorporate technical, scientific, and cultural knowledge and capital resources from Europe in its development. The National Constitution of 1853 strengthened that intention. It promoted European immigration, free trade, industrial enterprise, the construction of railways and canals, settlement of public lands, the introduction and establishment of new industries, and the importation of foreign capital.1

  • 2 David Rock, “The British of Argentina,” in Robert Bickers (ed.), Settlers and Expatriates: Britons (...)

2One of the consequences of these constitutional policies was a steep increase in population growth. In 1869, the national census recorded a population of 1,830,000 inhabitants. By 1895, this number had increased by 2.2 times, and the population reached 7,904,000 in 1914. The majority were Italians, followed by Spaniards and French; Germans and British accounted for the minority. Nevertheless, in 1930, the number of British reached a peak of 60,000. That made it the largest British expatriate community outside the British Empire, excluding the United States.2 Even though the British were a minority group, they wielded considerable influence in Argentina.

  • 3 For informal empire in Argentina, see Matthew Brown (ed.), Informal Empire in Latin America: cultu (...)
  • 4 Clarence B. Davis, Kenneth E. Wilburn and Ronald E. Robinson, Railway imperialism, New York, NY: G (...)

3Argentinian national policy provided an arena in which the British could flourish. Free trade, industry, railways and canals, investment, and land settlement were their areas of expertise, and the means by which Britain could expand its influence. At that time, Great Britain commanded the world’s most powerful empire. It led in the capital markets as well as in the most important industries—including iron—that Argentina needed, for continued development. Although not a formal colony of Great Britain, Argentina was certainly enmeshed in its economic influence, resulting in an “informal” imperial relationship.3 The railways and ports, which contributed greatly to Argentina’s urban development, also encouraged a co-dependent client-state relationship. Recent research has shown that the construction of extensive railway networks across Argentina’s vast territory, which required a huge quantity of iron, enabled Britain to extend and consolidate imperial power.4

4This informal imperial relationship, based on economic dependency, is thus one of the keys to understanding the massive importation of British iron into Argentina during the late nineteenth- and early twentieth-centuries.

  • 5 This firm supplied sugar machinery for the sugar mill in San Isidro, Salta, where some machinery i (...)

5As part of the same imperial network, iron buildings were built for or by British firms connected to British markets supplying the Empire with agrarian products from the meat-packing, wool, sugar, and grain industries, to name a few. ­The companies that processed these goods also used British cast iron machinery, like the equipment manufactured by the Scottish company Mirrless Watson Co.5

  • 6 Baring Brothers was the main financial institution subsidizing the Argentinian government railway (...)
  • 7 Douglas S. Purdom, British Steam on the Pampas: the locomotives of the Buenos Aires Great Southern (...)

6Likewise, firms connected to the British Empire hired British professionals, who relied on British shipping for British materials. Their enterprises ­were financed by British banks,6 contributing to a tight network that helped to expand the empire. Iron was closely involved in this dynamic, because even the ships carrying iron were made of iron. Argentinean freight travelled by trains drawn by iron locomotives like those made for the Scottish firm Great North of Scotland Railways.7

  • 8 Lion Foundry stated that they could make “almost anything in cast iron ranging from 1 lb. to 3 ton (...)

7Iron was essential, not only for railway lines and stations, or the development of ports and bridges. It was also crucial for new urban and sanitary networks, such as drinking water, gas, and electricity; new public spaces like parks; and new public and private buildings including government buildings, hospitals, libraries, schools, factories, shops, department stores, apartment buildings, and even palaces. An enormous variety of products could be made of cast iron. The flexibility of the material and the expertise of the Scottish foundries allowed them to make “almost anything.”8

  • 9 Boletín de servicio de los ferrocarriles del estado, nos. 4142 al 4150, 1889-1890, p. 84.
  • 10 Jorge D. Tartarini, Ferrocarriles Provincia Buenos Aires, La Plata: Instituto Cultural de la Provi (...)
  • 11 Andrew Handyside was Scottish but his company was based in England.
  • 12 Jorge D. Tartarini, El Palacio de las Aguas Corrientes. De Gran Deposito Distribuidor a Monumento (...)
  • 13 From Baring Archives it can be seen that Baring provided the loans to this companies for cast iron (...)

8Scottish iron foundry companies were able to contribute to Argentina’s development by shipping a wide range of elements. For example, Alexander Findlay & Co. made iron and steel structures for Plaza Constitución Station and bridges in Bahia Blanca, Sir William Arrol was commissioned to provide railway bridges between Tucuman and Salta.9 Arrol Brothers supplied pedestrian bridges for many railway stations in Buenos Aires province such as Núñez, Martínez, Casilda, Coghlan, Vicente López, Wilde, Olivos, Tolosa, and Rivadavia, among others.10 Andrew Handyside11 made cast iron fountains, as well as the railway station in San Miguel de Tucuman. Water and sewage supplies used cast iron in different forms. Glenfield Hydraulics Engineers provided a hydraulic system for Buenos Aires’ water supply,12 while cast iron pipes for water and sewage were provided by many different Scottish companies, such as David King, Forth & Clyde, Shaw & McInnes, DY Stewart & Co., and Thomas Edington & Sons.13 Moreover, although less important in terms of iron-import tonnage to Argentina, architectural cast iron, such as bandstands, gates, railings, lamps and fountains, supplied by the Carron, Macfarlane, and Lion foundries, had a huge influence on the Argentinian urban landscape, being so visible and decorative.

  • 14 In Brazil, Scottish ironworks have been surveyed by Geraldo Gomes da Silva and Cacilda Texeira da (...)

9Trade catalogues and company records have helped to identify some of these elements in Argentina, but much research remains to be done to reveal this invaluable heritage shared by two countries.14 Because this issue of ABE is dedicated to business archives, primary sources taken from Carron, Macfarlane, and Lion records and trade catalogues found in Scotland have been used. Secondary sources collected in Scotland and Argentina have helped to set up the historical context in which Scottish cast iron elements were designed, created, and exported in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Argentina’s iron consumption

  • 15 J. P. Santamarina, The Argentine Republic: Development, Facts and Trade Features, New York, NY, 19 (...)
  • 16 The Times, 22 April 1912. URL: http://www.newspapers.com/newspage/33231209/. Accessed 15 November (...)
  • 17 Sven Wässman, Sobre Las Posibilidades De Una Industria Siderúrgica en La República Argentina, Buen (...)

10Argentina’s growth spurt led to an increase in iron consumption, because the metal was an essential component in the development of the country’s infrastructure. In Buenos Aires alone, in 1912, 3,000 buildings were under construction, and the majority used iron and steel in their structures.15 The same year, The Times commented on the rapid rate of Argentina’s development and its demand for iron and steel.16 In 1913, Argentinian iron consumption reached a peak of 200,000 tons—more than double the average consumed in the rest of the world.17

  • 18 Samuel Griffiths, Griffiths' Guide to the Iron Trade of Great Britain, London: Samuel Griffith, 18 (...)
  • 19 John R. Hume and Michael S. Moss, Beardmore: The History of a Scottish Industrial Giant, London: P (...)

11Since Argentina could not develop an iron industry of its own, at least not with the speed, quality and variety that it needed for its rapid expansion, it had to import all iron elements from abroad, mainly from Great Britain, where iron was “the most important staple manufacture of the United Kingdom.”18 Scotland, in particular, was a significant supplier. The city of Glasgow, one of its principal centres of industry, was considered “the seat of great iron manufacture.”19

  • 20 See Winthrop R. Wright, British-owned Railways in Argentina: Their Effect on Economic Nationalism, (...)
  • 21 Dimas Helguera, La producción argentina en 1892, descripción de la industria nacional, su desarrol (...)
  • 22 The Argentine year book, Buenos Aires: J. Grant & Son, 1903.

12Even though Argentina had iron ore of its own, dependence on imports of British fuel and British raw iron, along with the high cost of transportation (also in British hands, since their companies owned 75% of the railway network)20 and fierce competition from British and other European iron companies, made it almost impossible for the local iron industry to develop.21 Import policies at that time provided no incentive, either, because the iron and steel used for railways were duty free. Meanwhile, iron ingots used by local foundries to manufacture their own products were subjected to a 5% value-added tax.22

  • 23 David S. Mitchell, “Iron Structures in Public Parks. Conservation and Restoration Challenges,” in (...)
  • 24 Dimas Helguera, La producción argentina en 1892, op. cit. (note 21), p. 200.
  • 25 Duncan L. Burn, The economic history of steelmaking, 1867-1939; a study in competition, Cambridge: (...)

13A few local foundries, such as Don Silvestre Zamboni or Pedro Vasena, were able to acquire good quality iron, but supply was not enough to meet Argentina’s demand. The Scottish industry operated on a much vaster scale, as the following figures show. In 1891 there were more than two hundred foundries working on architectural cast iron in Glasgow,23 as compared to only thirty-three in Buenos Aires, in 1892.24 By that time the United Kingdom was exporting more iron and steel to South America than it did to China, Japan, South Africa, Australia, Canada, or even India.25

  • 26 Scottish ironwork foundation, Macfarlane’s Architectural Ironwork, Balerno: Harlaw Heritage, 2006, (...)
  • 27 Juan Carlos Grassi, Una historia del progreso argentino: crónicas ilustradas de las exposiciones y (...)

14Although the use of cast iron in Argentina continued into the 1930s, the First World War dealt a great blow to the industry, not only hindering trade but also reducing the numbers of skilled molders.26 After the war, Britain’s hegemonic position in Argentina was threatened by competition from the United States.27 In addition, most of the railway lines, to which British imperial influence in Argentina had been staked, were completed.

The significance of the Scottish cast iron industry

  • 28 Paul Dobraszczyk, Iron, Ornament and Architecture in Victorian Britain: Myth and Modernity, Excess (...)

15Iron had been used since ancient times. However, its significance increased sharply after 1707, when Abraham Darby began to use readily available coke, instead of the rapidly diminishing supplies of charcoal, for smelting iron in England. His innovation paved the way for the industrial revolution. Improvements in casting and techniques made it possible to mass produce precision cast iron parts cheaply and rapidly.28

  • 29 David S. Mitchell, Macfarlane's castings: Walter Macfarlane & Co., Saracen Foundry, Glasgow: catal (...)
  • 30 David S. Mitchell, Development of the architectural iron founding industry in Scotland, Ph.D. diss (...)

16Darby’s revolutionary techniques were transferred to Scotland with the foundation of Carron Company in 1759. Using skilled workers from Coalbrookdale, in England, it became the first ironworks in Scotland to use coke for smelting iron and the first one to produce iron on a major scale. It was also the first to cast decorative iron elements.29 With the discovery of black-banded ironstone in 1801 and the invention in 1828 of the hot blast furnace, which considerably reduced fuel consumption, Scotland was set to produce the best quality iron quickly and for a competitive price. In addition, improvements to Scotland’s transport network (railways and ships) helped to distribute Scottish iron to the market. All these factors guaranteed the prominence of the iron industry in Scotland and around the world.30

  • 31 Ibid., p. 588.
  • 32 Samuel Griffiths, Griffiths' Guide to the Iron Trade of Great Britain, op. cit. (note 18), p. 162.

17Carron’s success helped stimulate the early iron industry in Scotland. Foundries were prolific, prosperous, and innovative.31 They were the most extensive in the world, and were capable of producing very large quantities of the best quality iron.32

  • 33 For more information about the role and importance of Scotland within the British Empire see: John (...)
  • 34 David S. Mitchell, Development of the architectural iron founding industry in Scotland, op. cit. ( (...)

18It seems that a lack of distinction between the countries that form the United Kingdom means that Scotland’s role in the development and expansion of the British Empire is often overshadowed by England’s.33 Similarly, the Coalbrookdale Company has enjoyed much more attention than the Scottish firms, even though it never matched the product diversity and range of the major Scottish firms.34

  • 35 Ibid., p. 579–589.
  • 36 Ibid., p. 580–588.

19At least Walter Macfarlane from the Saracen Foundry, has received fairer worldwide recognition. It was considered one of the most important architectural iron founders in the world. No other firm equalled the Saracen foundry in stature, quality, output, or global reach.35 Marfarlane’s cast iron elements can be found in India, Australia, Malaysia, Canada, and Greece, but also in Latin American countries such as Mexico, Chile, Brazil, and Argentina.36

Architectural cast iron design and trade catalogues

20Although it is difficult to describe a “Scottish” cast iron style, iron foundries employed the most prominent artists of the time to create their designs. The quality of the decoration and the influence of these artists were remarkable. Drawing books and catalogues became powerful tools for the promotion of cast iron architecture.

  • 37 Paul Dobraszczyk, Iron, Ornament and Architecture in Victorian Britain, op. cit. (note 28), p. 32– (...)
  • 38 Calcida Texeira da Costa, O Sonho e a Tecnica. A Arquitectura de ferro no Brasil, São Paulo: Edusp (...)
  • 39 E. Richard McKinstry, “Books About Antiques—Trade Catalogues, 1542 to 1842 by Theodore R. Crom,” T (...)
  • 40 Paul Dobraszczyk, Iron, Ornament and Architecture in Victorian Britain, op. cit. (note 28), p. 30
  • 41 John MacKenzie and T. M. Devine, Scotland and the British Empire, op. cit. (note 33).

21Carron Company was among the pioneers in developing trade catalogues and, by 1780, had already published a second edition of 100 pages.37 By that time, it was quite clear that trade catalogues were effective sales aids, and British firms had increasingly adopted them. The advantages of trade catalogues were great and varied: they contained a record of the company’s standard offerings, making it easier for customers to place orders, and minimizing risks of error; they offered customers a view of the wide variety of a company’s products, including their dimensions, possible combinations, and assembly instructions;38 they kept wholesalers and retailers around the world up-to-date with the latest designs;39 they mitigated the need for face-to-face business and usefully extended the reach of British imperial commercial interests.40 Trade catalogues became essential for the cast iron industry in the promotion and export of their products throughout the Empire and beyond.41

  • 42 Mónica Silva Contreras, “Los Catálogos de Piezas Constructivas y Ornamentales en Arquitectura: Art (...)
  • 43 Ibid.

22The popularity of trade catalogues grew considerably in middle of the nineteenth century, when the “Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of all Nations” at the Crystal Palace42 in 1851 exposed British products to new export markets. In addition, Applegath and Cowper’s new press, capable of printing 5,000 pages per hour, made illustrated catalogues the most appropriate medium for promoting Britain’s growing industries as they took their first steps towards globalization.43

23The chief draftsman of the iron foundry was usually in charge of preparing designs and illustrations for the trade catalogues. Carron Company, for example, employed the Scottish architects Robert and James Adam. Their classical principles strongly influenced the company style, which in turn influenced cast iron ornament in general.44 Carron’s incorporation of quality design and pattern work was essential to their success. The Adam brothers took great advantage of the low production costs of cast iron, compared to the intensive labour and costs of wrought iron, to create ironwork that was not merely functional but also decorative.45 The publication in 1773 of Robert and James Adam’s “The Works in Architecture” promoted the use of cast iron and was vital in making the neo-classical style popular.46

  • 47 Charles Driver also participated in projects in South America in collaboration with the engineer E (...)
  • 48 Paul Dobraszczyk, Iron, Ornament and Architecture in Victorian Britain, op. cit. (note 28), p. 14.
  • 49 David S. Mitchell, Development of the architectural iron founding industry in Scotland, op. cit. ( (...)

24Like Carron, Macfarlane commissioned the best architects, including Alexander “Greek” Thomson, James Boucher, and Charles Driver,47 to provide ornamental designs for the company.48 Interestingly, in 1893, William Cassells, Chief Draughtsman and Designer of Walter Macfarlane’s at Saracen, was persuaded to take the same job position at Lion. James Leitch, who was responsible for many of the Art Nouveau designs, succeeded Cassells.49

  • 50 Ibid., p. 445.
  • 51 Ibid., p. 449.

25Macfarlane printed its first illustrated catalogue in 1857.50 The company dedicated considerable effort to publishing high-quality illustrated catalogues containing a wealth of information—something that distinguished them from other manufacturers. They also published some sample books illustrating their cast iron products in situ, in different parts of the world, to show the extent of the manufacturing range.51

  • 52 Paul Dobraszczyk, Iron, Ornament and Architecture in Victorian Britain, op. cit. (note 28), p. 3.
  • 53 In November 2013, over sixty limestone lithographic stones used for printing the sixth edition of (...)

26In general, there was a significant increase in the number of cast iron designs offered by iron foundries after 1850. For instance, Macfarlane, which offered hundreds of designs by 1865, listed thousands just ten years later.52 One of the most important catalogues for the quality and quantity of its designs is the sixth edition of Macfarlane’s catalogue from 1882.53

27Lion’s company records reveal how the company draftsmen re-used and recombined old designs to create new ones, sometimes adding new, more fashionable patterns. The variety was enormous, and the company also offered a bespoke service for its customers.

  • 54 David S. Mitchell, Development of the architectural iron founding industry in Scotland, op. cit. ( (...)
  • 55 Sketchbook of James Leitch, draughtsman. Kirkintilloch (Scotland), William Patrick Library, Lion A (...)

28Preparing these catalogues for publication was time-consuming and meticulous. The drawings had to match the finished product exactly, so that customers could see what to expect. Because so much work went into editing the content, foundries tended to omit the publication year, most likely to prevent the catalogues from going out of date. As a result, it is often difficult to be certain of the year of publication.54 They required so much preparation that as much as 17 years might elapse between printings. For example, at Lion, the third edition (fig. 1) of the trade catalogue printed in 1895 was not published until 1912.55

Figure 1: Lion Foundry, Leitch’s Gate design number 108.

Figure 1: Lion Foundry, Leitch’s Gate design number 108.

Draft in working catalogue for the third edition (left) and trade catalogue, third edition (right).

Source: Kirkintilloch (Scotland), William Patrick Library, 610/7/1/21 and 6010/7/1/13.

  • 56 Lion Foundry Company, Illustrated catalogue of Cast Iron Manufactures, Lion Foundry Co., [1912], v (...)

Since the issue of the second edition [1895] we have, owing to the demand for our goods, found it necessary to make a considerable increase in variety of our Patterns, and hope the new designs herein illustrated will enable our numerous professional friends more freely to select and specify our manufactures of the high standard of which they have evidence in our former supplies. Our Works are conveniently situated and thoroughly equipped, thus giving every facility for the prompt execution of orders. We are also in position to prepare Special Designs, when required, and in these we are able to give our Customers the benefit of wide, practical, and artistic experience.56

29Iron foundries also produced catalogues, or other published material, written in other languages and using different measuring systems to reach customers around the world. It is not clear exactly when iron foundries started the practice, but in 1775 the ceramics manufacturer Josiah Wedgwood had already published trade catalogues in French, German, Italian, Dutch, and Russian.57 The Carron, Macfarlane, and Lion foundries published catalogues, supplements and pamphlets in Spanish to support their trade with South American countries. Special publications were also distributed at local exhibitions. For instance, at the Buenos Aires exhibition of 1910, organizers expressed the “desirability of having their [exhibitors] trade catalogues and price lists in the Spanish language.”58 Similarly, in 1931, the British Exhibition of Arts and Industry in Buenos Aires, in a promotional piece on the event in an Anglo-Spanish supplement of The Engineer, commented that all exhibitors had printed catalogues and pamphlets in English and Spanish.59

The records and legacy in Argentina of the Carron, Saracen and Lion Foundries

30Carron was the most prominent of this triumvirate of Scottish foundries. It was the first in Scotland, the first to work iron and ornamental cast iron on a large scale, and one of the first to publish trade catalogues. Almost every subsequent foundry had a direct or indirect relationship to it. Macfarlane was the most distinguished foundry, known worldwide for the high quality of its iron. Examples of Macfarlane ornamental work can still be found all over the world. Lion Foundry is known for the manufacture of the famous red British telephone box. Even though other companies also made the boxes, Lion had the biggest contract.

31Documentation found in Carron Company (Edinburgh, National Records of Scotland) and Lion Foundry records (Kirkintilloch, William Patrick Library) and Macfarlane’s trade catalogues are an invaluable source of information and help when identifying and documenting Scottish cast iron in Argentina.

32In South America, it seems that Buenos Aires was an important regional centre, where the agents of British companies handled orders from other Latin American countries. Documentation found reveals both the addresses of their offices and the names of those in charge. Many British architects or engineers also had subsidiary offices in Buenos Aires, while their headquarters and showrooms were most likely in London.

Carron Company

33Foundry name: Carron Ironworks

34Company name: Roebuck, Garbett & Caddell (1759), known as “Carron Company” since 1773 when it received a royal charter for guns
Operation dates: 1759–1982

35Location: Falkirk, Stirlingshire, Scotland (fig. 2)

36Significant architectural examples: ornamental cast iron balconies for New Town in Edinburgh (a Unesco World Heritage site); shelter at Clacton-on-Sea, bandstands, porches, cast iron shop fronts such as those on the Automobile Association building and Harvey Nichols in London, stoves, chimneys, and domestic appliances.

Figure 2: Aerial view of Carron ironworks in 1928.

Figure 2: Aerial view of Carron ironworks in 1928.

Source: Edinburgh (Scotland), Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland.

  • 60 Roy H. Campbell, “The Financing of Carron Company,” Business History, vol. 1, no. 1, December 1958 (...)
  • 61 Ibid.
  • 62 Roy H. Campbell, Carron Company, Edinburgh; London: Oliver and Boyd Ltd, 1961, p. 72–90.

37Carron Company was founded in 1759 near Falkirk, in Stirlingshire, by two Englishmen (Samuel Garbett and John Roebuck) and a Scotsman (William Cadell). The site, close to the River Carron, was perfect, with easy access to coal and ironstone.60 The men decided to smelt with coke (Abraham Darby’s technique). The works expanded very rapidly, and at the end of 1761 the company had 500 employees.61 Early on, they specialized in cylinders and other parts for pumping engines; cast iron pipes for water supply, and nails and armaments, one of which, the carronade naval cannon, used in the Napoleonic Wars, made the company famous. It also produced ornamental railings, stoves, and grates, as well as cooking and domestic appliances.62

38Carron Company was one of the oldest iron foundry businesses in the world and occupied an important place in the industrial history of Great Britain. From the very beginning, the company tried to be up-to-date with new technologies, such as the water wheel or James Watt’s steam engine. By implementing new inventions such as these, it became the first large-scale iron foundry. The famous “carronade” cannon and other armaments, sold in Britain and abroad,63 helped the company transcend British borders and become prominent around the world—an achievement that encouraged further iron production in Scotland.64

39As early as 1814, the company already had 2,000 workers, making it the largest iron works in Europe.65 From the 1870s onward, it underwent management changes and the enlargement of the works. Starting in the 1890s, the company developed its export trade, increasing it successfully until 1914.66 The inter-war period was filled with uncertainty, and Carron tried to adapt to new markets67 by focusing on domestic appliances.68

40By 1965, the company had moved into the manufacture of plastic baths. But failing to make a profit, it went bankrupt in 1982. The company still exists today under the name of “Carron Phoenix,” producing stainless steel and plastic moulded sinks.69

Carron company records

  • 70 Information taken from archive description of the collection..

41The National Records of Scotland, located in Edinburgh, hold an extensive collection from Carron Company. Although there are some gaps, it is possible to follow the history of the firm from its origins in 1759 through its 200 years of operation. Part of the collection includes documents relating to armaments from the time of the Napoleonic Wars to the Second World War, as well as miscellany concerning bathroom ware, industrial and domestic heating, domestic appliances, and hydraulic and other engineering equipment. Records also exist relating to the Carron Shipping line and other subsidiary companies.70

Carron Company in Argentina

42It is not clear exactly when Carron’s representative office in Buenos Aires opened, but documentation shows Carron Company used it to deal products throughout South America.

43There are two Carron catalogues from 1913, written in Spanish to trade with South American countries. One of them contains electrical and gas appliances for cooking, stoves and fireplaces, iron elements for stables, farm implements like ploughs and harrows, iron structures such as bandstands, stairs, and canopies, gates and railings, and domestic utensils like pots and toasters. The other one focuses on ploughs and the pig iron bars that were used by Argentina’s local foundries.

44A 1924 company photo album called Structural Book and a trade catalogue published in 1938 (both in English) contain pictures of cast iron railings and a staircase made by Carron for Maple Company, an English furniture store in Buenos Aires (fig. 3).

Figure 3: Carron Company, Maple Company.

Figure 3: Carron Company, Maple Company.

Maple Company pictures in the Structural Book, 1924 (left) and Maple Company premises in Buenos Aires, Carron Catalogue, 1938 (right).

Source: Edinburgh (Scotland), National Records of Scotland, GD58/19/56 and GD58/16/97.

  • 71 Edinburgh (Scotland), The National Records of Scotland, GD58/6/11/41. Sales visits. July 1928. Rep (...)

45In 1928, a Carron representative named Fraser travelled to Argentina to evaluate the market and find a new sales agent for the company. He considered the River Plate to be a “large market,” and noted that most of the company’s “well-known competitors” had “abandoned all attempts at business.”71 This was probably due to the fact that most of the British businesses were connected with the railway system, almost completed by that time.

  • 72 Edinburgh (Scotland), The National Records of Scotland, GD58/6/11/41. Sales visits. S. Fraser trip (...)

46Analyzing the market for domestic appliances, Fraser found these the most suitable products to promote in Argentina.72 In his “sales visits,” he met with many import companies, stores, and also railway companies. As we mentioned earlier, trade catalogues were essential to him in conducting a transatlantic cast iron business. According to his reports:

Great Southern Railway: “meeting with Mr. Smith architect and Mr. McDonald, chief draughtsman…left catalogue…Mr. Smith promised to use Carron in next specifications.”

Central Cordoba and Retiro Station: “Saw chief engineer who recommended we send particular cooking apparatus for hotels”

Central Argentine Railway: “send catalogues to chief engineer department.”

  • 73 Edinburgh (Scotland), The National Records of Scotland, GD58/6/11/41. Sales visits. July 1928. Rep (...)

Pacific Railway: “Mr. Barton, acting chief mechanical engineer, promised to mention our name in next specifications. Left catalogue.”73

  • 74 For networks of empire see Gary B. Magee and Andrew S. Thompson, Empire and Globalisation: Network (...)

47These meetings also illustrate how the imperial network functioned. Many British engineers working on railways in Argentina developed projects and drawings, liaised with contractors, and ensured that work was undertaken according to their specifications. They also decided which firms would provide the materials, and tended to choose the British companies they knew and trusted.74

  • 75 Edinburgh (Scotland), The National Records of Scotland, GD58/13/1Trade mark certificates.

48Documentation outlining trademark specifications can also be found in the Carron records. From a trademark agreement of 1936, it can be seen that Buenos Aires was importing cast iron pipes from Carron Company. The document also gives us the name of the representative agent of Carron Company in Argentina: Horacio John Hale. It also demonstrates the common mistake of making no distinction between Scotland and England.75

49The original drawings used for the Carron catalogues, including the one written in Spanish, can be found in an Ornamental Drawing folder. The design drawing illustrates how it was possible to re-purpose the pattern for other uses. For example, the balcony-railing design illustrated below could also be used for other railings and gates (fig. 4).

Figure 4: Carron Company, design number 188 for gate and railings.

Figure 4: Carron Company, design number 188 for gate and railings.

Ornamental drawings (left) and Trade catalogue for South America, 1930 (right).

Source: Edinburgh (Scotland), National Records of Scotland, GD58/16/42 and GD58/17/116/.

Saracen Foundry

50Company name: Walter Macfarlane & Co

51Foundry name: Saracen Foundry

52Operation dates: 1850–1967

53Location: Possilpark, Glasgow (fig. 5)

  • 76 Calcida Texeira da Costa, O Sonho e a Tecnica, op. cit. (note 39).
  • 77 Scottish ironwork foundation, Macfarlane’s Architectural Ironwork, op. cit. (note 27).

54Significant architectural examples: buildings and shop fronts including the Cotton Exchange, G. H. Lee & Co. in Liverpool, Selfridges and John Barker & Co. in London, University College and Elvery & Co. in Dublin and the Coates building in Belfast; bridges including Exe Bridge, Rochester, New Southwark in England, Kelvin and Union Bridges in Scotland; many shelters and bandstands (including a bandstand in Buenos Aires Zoo, Argentina); and railway stations such as Glasgow Cross and Central in Scotland. Significant works that were shipped abroad include the Summer Palace in Sipri, an arcade and verandas in Johannesburg, the Durbar Hall in Mysore, and banking premises in India. In South America, Macfarlane sold whole buildings, in Brazil:76 Sao Paulo Station, the market in Manaus, José de Alencar Theatre in Fortaleza. To promote their business around the world, Macfarlane’s catalogues featured some of these works, like the gate of San Martin Park in Mendoza, Argentina.77

Figure 5: Aerial View of Saracen Foundry, 1928.

Figure 5: Aerial View of Saracen Foundry, 1928.

Source: Edinburgh (Scotland), Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland.

  • 78 David S. Mitchell, Development of the architectural iron founding industry in Scotland, op. cit. ( (...)

55Founded in 1850 by Walter Macfarlane and James Marshall (Thomas Russell was later included as an associate), the Saracen Foundry is probably the most famous iron foundry in the world. Walter Macfarlane can be considered the key figure in architectural iron founding in Scottish history. No other company gained such a reputation or international profile.78 Macfarlane thrived in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, when there was a great demand for highly ornamental cast iron.

  • 79 Ibid.
  • 80 Ibid.

56By 1965 the company had become part of the Allied Ironfounders, and in 1966 was absorbed by Glynwed Group. A year later, the 80-acre foundry site at Possilpark closed.79 In 1993 Macfarlane’s company name was bought by a conservation and restoration company from Glasgow called Heritage Engineering, which continues to manufacture many of the original designs of the Saracen Foundry.80

Macfarlane company records

  • 81 Edinburgh (Scotland), The National Records of Scotland, CS96/199/1-28, dating from 1852 to 1857.
  • 82 Edinburgh (Scotland), The National Records of Scotland, BT2/1968/589, dating from 1852 to 1857.

57It is not clear what happened to Macfarlane’s company records. There is some likelihood that most of the records and patterns were burned in 1965 when Allied Ironfounders absorbed the company. Unfortunately, only fragments of Macfarlane business records survive in the National Records of Scotland. These are foremen’s instruction books81 and the files from the company’s dissolution.82

Macfarlane in Argentina

  • 83 David S. Mitchell shows a trade catalogue of South Africa showing the representative agent in Cape (...)
  • 84 Ibid., p. 436.
  • 85 Ibid.

58Currently there is no evidence for the existence of any representative office or Macfarlane agent in Argentina or any other Spanish-speaking country. Even though the company had agents in other parts of the globe,83 it is quite possible that there were none in Argentina, since one of the company’s goals was to eliminate intermediaries and focus on direct sales.84 Orders could have been placed directly, using information from catalogues, and sales were mainly managed from the London office.85 As Macfarlane stated: “With the view of simplifying the ordering of our goods, we refer you to the ‘Directions for ordering’ on first page of each section.”

  • 86 Marcela Liliana Díaz and María Cristina Fernández, “Jardín zoológico de Buenos Aires,”in Maria de (...)

59A Macfarlane’s trade catalogue supplement written in Spanish can be found in the Ironbridge Library. Because it is only a catalogue supplement, unfortunately, it is not clear if the catalogue itself was written in Spanish or in English. Likewise, the year of publication is unknown. The supplement focuses on theatre fixtures, such as the ones at the José de Alencar in Brazil, bandstands, gates, and railings. Macfarlane’s bandstands, in particular, were very popular and page seven shows a variety of options for “Kioskos para música.” (fig. 6) A Macfarlane bandstand, model number 249, can still be seen at Buenos Aires Zoo and has recently been restored.86

Figure 6: Macfarlane Company, bandstands.

Figure 6: Macfarlane Company, bandstands.

Supplement catalogue written in Spanish (above) and Macfarlane’s bandstand number 249 in Buenos Aires Zoo (below).

Source: Shropshire (England), Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust Library and Lucia Juarez.

60In the same Macfarlane Spanish supplement, page 9 shows a gate as an example for a park entrance: “this gate was designed and built recently by us…” In fact, this particular gate is the one located in San Martín Park in Mendoza (fig. 7). It is used as an example in other Macfarlane catalogues.

Figure 7: Macfarlane Company, gate at San Martin Park, Mendoza, Argentina.

Figure 7: Macfarlane Company, gate at San Martin Park, Mendoza, Argentina.

Catalogue supplement written in Spanish (above) and the same gate in Macfarlane’s examples of architectural ironwork (below).

Source: Shropshire (England), Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust Library and Stirling (Scotland), Scottish Ironwork Foundation.

  • 87 Jorge D. Tartarini, El Palacio de las Aguas Corrientes. De Gran Deposito Distribuidor a Monumento (...)
  • 88 Elisa Radovanic, Jorge D. Tartarini and Aguas Argentinas, Agua y saneamiento en Buenos Aires, 1580 (...)

61Other examples of Macfarlane’s gates and railings can be identified in Argentina, namely, in Buenos Aires, in the Palacio de las Aguas Corrientes (Macfarlane also designed the caryatids on the facade),87 and in the Depósito Caballito.88 In other provinces, such as Tucumán, Macfarlane made the entrance to Sagrado Corazón School (fig. 8).

Figure 8: Macfarlane, Sagrado Corazón School gate.

Figure 8: Macfarlane, Sagrado Corazón School gate.

Source: Walter Macfarlane and Co., Illustrated catalogue of Macfarlane's castings, sixth edition, Glasgow, 1882, vol. 1, design number 461 and Lucia Juarez.

  • 89 Mónica Ferrari, “Los Catálogos de Fabricación en Hierro,” in Ramón Gutiérrez (ed.), Estudio de arq (...)
  • 90 Jorge D. Tartarini, Ferrocarriles Provincia Buenos Aires, op. cit. (note 10), p. 32. Thanks to Jor (...)

62Similarly, in the Belgrano railway station in Córdoba, columns, railings, and terminals made by Macfarlane can be identified.89 Other Macfarlane elements can be found in other Argentinian railway stations. For example, a Macfarlane cast iron urinal—the height of fashion in sanitary products at the time—can still be seen in Iraola and Coronel Vidal railway stations in Buenos Aires province (fig. 9 and 10).90

Figure 9: Macfarlane company, urinals.

Figure 9: Macfarlane company, urinals.

Source: Scottish ironwork foundation (ed.)Macfarlane's Architectural Ironwork, Balerno: Harlaw Heritage, 2006, p. 421, 427.

Figure 10: Macfarlane company, urinals.

Figure 10: Macfarlane company, urinals.

Urinals number 5A in Coronel Vidal Station (above) and same model in Iraola Station (below).

Source: Pablo Marzilio and Jorge D. Tartarini.

  • 91 John Gay, Cast Iron: Architecture and Ornament, Function and Fantasy, London: Murray, 1985, p. 11.

63Smaller elements, such as cast iron balconies, bandstands, ornamental gates, and fountains, were connected to the idea of imperialism, since they are the only element that is fairly uniform within formal (and informal) colonies: “They are still what makes the former parts of the empire distinctive and recognisable.”91 Interestingly, in 1901, the British community of Paraná donated a water trough in commemoration of Queen Victoria's Government as “demonstration of gratitude for the feelings demonstrated by the Argentine people,” as the cast iron plaque still proclaims.

Figure 11: Macfarlane company, water trough.

Figure 11: Macfarlane company, water trough.

Water trough number 27 in catalogue sixth edition, vol. 2 (left) and the same model in Paraná.

Source: Scottish ironwork foundationMacfarlane's Architectural Ironwork, Balerno: Harlaw Heritage, 2006 and Pablo Marzilio.

64Macfarlane was one of the most famous firms, and always used visible trademarks. As a result, it is easier for scholars to identify elements they manufactured.

65Macfarlane’s trade catalogues offered the vision of the modern European city that Argentina sought to emulate. For that reason, it is no surprise to find many of the elements represented in the Macfarlane show room, illustrated in the first page of the sixth edition, in Argentina. The water trough in the centre of the image, the urinals on the left, and the park gates on the right are all examples found in Argentina (fig. 11 and 12).

Figure 12: Macfarlane, showroom.

Figure 12: Macfarlane, showroom.

Catalogue sixth edition, first page.

Source: Collection Lucia Juarez.

Lion Foundry

66Company name: Jackson, Hudson & Brown

67Foundry name: Lion Foundry

68Operation dates: 1880–1984

69Location: Kirkintilloch, Scotland (fig. 13)

  • 92 Kirkintilloch (Scotland), William Patrick Library, Lion Archive. Typewritten piece of paper, givi (...)

70Significant architectural examples: window surround supplied to the Constitución railway station in Buenos Aires; a large number of cast iron building fronts such as the main façade of the Unilever Building, London; cast iron stairs for Tower Bridge, London and cast iron parapet for the new Lambeth Bridge, London; bandstands in Great Britain and elsewhere; and railings and gates, including, for example, about 1830 m of ornamental railing and twelve gates shipped to Bombay, India, for a prince’s residence, like the railings for a race course in Calcutta; tram and bus shelters around the UK; verandas, canopies, or balconies supplied to a large number of theatres, including the London Hippodrome and theatres in Sheffield, Nottingham, Portsmouth, Leeds, Holloway, Liverpool, Douglas, Cardiff, etc.; ornamental ironwork for Leeds County Arcade; shelter for Mansion House, London; several porticos for Indian banks;92 and red telephone kiosks around the world.

Figure 13: Aerial view of Lion Foundry.

Figure 13: Aerial view of Lion Foundry.

Source: Edinburgh (Scotland), Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland.

71Three former employees of Saracen Foundry and Macfarlane & Co. founded the original company in 1880: Jackson, Brown, and Cuthbert. Later, another key figure joined the firm, William Cassells, also from Saracen.93 In 1885 the company changed its name to the Lion Foundry.

72The foundry was erected near the North British Railway and the Forth and Clyde Canal, from which raw materials could be brought and finished products easily distributed.94 It specialized in fine ornamental and architectural cast ironwork, including building front panels, fire-escape stairs, bridge parapets, bandstands, arcades, verandas, balconies, and shelters, as well as sanitary ware and building and plumbing castings.95

73After the Second World War the firm began to specialize in engineering castings, including the famous red telephone kiosks, also manufactured by their competitors Carron Foundry, Saracen Foundry (Macfarlane), McDowall Steven, and Bratt Colbran. However, the Lion Foundry did not survive the end of the contract for the Sir Giles Gilbert Scott phone boxes.96 After the 1930s, some items, such as the telephone kiosks, were still shipped to Argentina. The one located at the National Library is not in use. It was repainted as part of an outdoor exhibition, and many other can be found in Pecoleta area, Buenos Aires.

Figure 14: Lion’s finishing shop (left) and Lion’s telephone box (right).

Figure 14: Lion’s finishing shop (left) and Lion’s telephone box (right).

Source: Kirkintilloch (Scotland), William Patrick Library and Lucia Juarez.

Lion company records

  • 97 J. Miller, “Taming the Lion,” Records Keeping, no. 11, October 2007, p. 24–26.

74A company archive composed of 1,000 photographs and 2,300 drawings, along with financial records, staff and administrative records, and advertising and publicity material, is held by the East Dunbarstoneshire Archives in the William Patrick Library. Likewise, original patterns made of wood, plaster, or iron, and other foundry artifacts, are on display at the Auld Kirk Museum, also in Kirkintilloch.97

Lion in Argentina

75Like Carron Company, Lion Foundry had a representative agent in Buenos Aires, although it is difficult to establish the dates. The representative was L. P. Winby Engineers and Contractors who, as can be seen from a brochure, also had an office in London.

  • 98 Romano Jodice (ed.), L’architectura del ferro. 9. L’Argentina 1850–1930, op. cit. (note 14), p. 18 (...)

76Britain was the Lion Foundry’s main market, but it is possible to find elements of their work in other parts of the world, including Argentina. They manufactured an impressive cast iron window (in conjunction with Crittall Manufacturing Co.) for Plaza Constitución Station in Buenos Aires, which was the head station of the Buenos Aires Great Southern Railway. As with most other lines, the railway was mainly constructed and managed by British engineers and architects. Interestingly, in that station, another Scottish company called Alexander Findlay and Co. provided the interior structure made in cast iron and steel.98

Figure 15: Lion Company, cast iron window made for Plaza Constitución Station (left) and cast iron window in workshop (right).

Figure 15: Lion Company, cast iron window made for Plaza Constitución Station (left) and cast iron window in workshop (right).

Source: Kirkintilloch (Scotland), William Patrick Library.

Conclusion

77British materials—especially iron, machinery, professionals, and capital—made Argentina’s development possible. Argentina’s constitution opened the doors for European immigration and free trade, and promoted a liberal ideal of nationhood. Laws encouraged the import of British manufactured products such as iron (in the form of bars, rolling stock, structural elements, bridges, urban furniture, etc.) and, at the same time, hampered the development of local business. In its rush to become a “modern” country, Argentina actually became a part of Britain’s informal empire. Control of the materials, such as iron, needed for development gave Britain enormous power in these emerging economies. Scotland, as the workshop of the world, played an important role in this, as did the networks of British engineers, architects, and designers who collaborated on projects in Argentina.

78Documenting industrial heritage in general is a difficult task, mainly because so many companies’ archives have been lost. When such heritage is transnational, involving more than one country, the difficulty is far greater. The iron industry was so important in Scotland that one would hope that company records would have been preserved. Sadly, most iron casting companies’ archives have disappeared, even those from famous firms like Walter Macfarlane. As a result, trade catalogues are the most important source of information for the architectural historian. They record the inventory offered by the companies, and how it was marketed. The fact that catalogues were printed in Spanish illustrates just how important these books were, for expanding the informal empire.

79Documentation found in Scottish company records and libraries has helped to identify new architectural cast iron items in Argentina, to understand how they were created and traded, and clarify whether important foundries had representative agents or offices in Argentina. It also yields other relevant information that is already leading to further investigation. However, this is not enough, and research on the documentation needs to be complemented by further research in Scotland and Argentina.

Inicio de página

Notas

1 URL: http://www.biblioteca.jus.gov.ar/constitucionargentina1853.html. Accessed 15 November 2014.

2 David Rock, “The British of Argentina,” in Robert Bickers (ed.), Settlers and Expatriates: Britons Over the Seas, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010 (Oxford history of the British Empire companion series), p. 18.

3 For informal empire in Argentina, see Matthew Brown (ed.), Informal Empire in Latin America: culture, commerce, and capital, Oxford: Blackwell, 2008 (Bulletin of Latin American research book series), in which Argentina’s case has been analysed by Alan Knight (Chapter I), David Rock (Chapter II), Colin Lewis (Chapter IV) and Andrew Thompson (Chapter X). Also see Alan Knight, “Britain and Latin America,” in Andrew Porter (ed.), The Oxford History of the British Empire. 3. The Nineteenth Century, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999 and “Latin America,” in Judith Browne, William Roger Louis and Alaine M. Low (eds.), The Oxford History of the British Empire. 4. The Twentieth Century, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999.

4 Clarence B. Davis, Kenneth E. Wilburn and Ronald E. Robinson, Railway imperialism, New York, NY: Greenwood Press, 1991 (Contributions in Comparative Colonial Studies, 26), p. 2.

5 This firm supplied sugar machinery for the sugar mill in San Isidro, Salta, where some machinery is now exhibited in the garden. In 1908, it also supplied complete sugar processing factories for a sugar mill in Formosa. The Times, 11 November 1908 in URL: http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Mirrlees_Watson_Co. Accessed 15 November 2014.

6 Baring Brothers was the main financial institution subsidizing the Argentinian government railway companies and other infrastructure such as the water supply and waste disposal. In 1890, the company’s Argentinian loans and speculation triggered its downturn, in an event known as the Baring crisis. See: A. G. Ford, “Argentina and the Baring Crisis of 1890,” Oxford Economic Papers, 23 May 2010, p. 127–150. Among other things, Ford analyzes the role of massive imports, including iron and other construction materials.

7 Douglas S. Purdom, British Steam on the Pampas: the locomotives of the Buenos Aires Great Southern Railway, London; New York, NY: Mechanical Engineering Publications, 1977.

8 Lion Foundry stated that they could make “almost anything in cast iron ranging from 1 lb. to 3 tons in weight” in The Herald newspaper on 31 July 1963. Taken from Kirkintilloch (Scotland), William Patrick Library, Lion Archive.

9 Boletín de servicio de los ferrocarriles del estado, nos. 4142 al 4150, 1889-1890, p. 84.

10 Jorge D. Tartarini, Ferrocarriles Provincia Buenos Aires, La Plata: Instituto Cultural de la Provincia de Buenos Aires, 2009. Also, similar pedestrian bridges were manufactured by Macfarlane.

11 Andrew Handyside was Scottish but his company was based in England.

12 Jorge D. Tartarini, El Palacio de las Aguas Corrientes. De Gran Deposito Distribuidor a Monumento Histórico Nacional, Buenos Aires: Agua y Saneamientos Argentinos S.A. AySA, 2012, p. 146. Glenfield Co. appeared as English, but it is actually from Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire in Scotland.

13 From Baring Archives it can be seen that Baring provided the loans to this companies for cast iron pipes in 1873. URL: http://www.baringarchive.org.uk/materials/the_baring_archive_hc4.pdf. Accessed 15 November 2014.

14 In Brazil, Scottish ironworks have been surveyed by Geraldo Gomes da Silva and Cacilda Texeira da Costa. However, nothing of this kind has been done in Argentina. The publication edited by Romano Jodice (ed.), L'architettura del ferro. 9. L’Argentina 1850–1930 (Rome: Kappa, 2003) offers a good general view of the range of ironworks in Argentina but only the caryatids of the Water Palace and platform structure for Plaza Constitution are identified as Scottish, and the publication is written only in Italian. Some Scottish ornamental cast iron has been identified in Mendoza by Patricia Favre, others in Cordoba by Mónica Ferrari and in Buenos Aires by Jorge D. Tartarini, but in no case has a publication been dedicated exclusively to Scottish ironworks in Argentina or the study of its influence in the British Empire.

15 J. P. Santamarina, The Argentine Republic: Development, Facts and Trade Features, New York, NY, 1912.

16 The Times, 22 April 1912. URL: http://www.newspapers.com/newspage/33231209/. Accessed 15 November 2014.

17 Sven Wässman, Sobre Las Posibilidades De Una Industria Siderúrgica en La República Argentina, Buenos Aires: Talleres Graficos del Ministerio de Agricultura de la Nacion Argentina, 1927, p. 8–9.

18 Samuel Griffiths, Griffiths' Guide to the Iron Trade of Great Britain, London: Samuel Griffith, 1873, preface.

19 John R. Hume and Michael S. Moss, Beardmore: The History of a Scottish Industrial Giant, London: Pearson Education, 1979, p. 11.

20 See Winthrop R. Wright, British-owned Railways in Argentina: Their Effect on Economic Nationalism, 1854-1948, Austin, TX: Institute of Latin American Studies, University of Texas Press, 1974 (Latin American monographs, 34).

21 Dimas Helguera, La producción argentina en 1892, descripción de la industria nacional, su desarrollo y progress en toda la República ampliación del retrospecto publicado en la Prensa el 1’ de Enero de 1893, Buenos Aires, 1893, p. 200.

22 The Argentine year book, Buenos Aires: J. Grant & Son, 1903.

23 David S. Mitchell, “Iron Structures in Public Parks. Conservation and Restoration Challenges,” in Deborah Slaton, Chad Randl and Lauren Van Damme (eds.), Preserve and play: preserving historic recreation and entertainment sites, Washington, DC: Historic Preservation Education Foundation, 2006, p. 289–295.

24 Dimas Helguera, La producción argentina en 1892, op. cit. (note 21), p. 200.

25 Duncan L. Burn, The economic history of steelmaking, 1867-1939; a study in competition, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1961, p. 80.

26 Scottish ironwork foundation, Macfarlane’s Architectural Ironwork, Balerno: Harlaw Heritage, 2006, p.18–19.

27 Juan Carlos Grassi, Una historia del progreso argentino: crónicas ilustradas de las exposiciones y congresos siglos XIX-XX, Buenos Aires: Editorial Ferias & Congresos, 2011, p. 182.

28 Paul Dobraszczyk, Iron, Ornament and Architecture in Victorian Britain: Myth and Modernity, Excess and Enchantment, Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishing Limited, 2014, p. 3.

29 David S. Mitchell, Macfarlane's castings: Walter Macfarlane & Co., Saracen Foundry, Glasgow: catalogue, sixth edition, Edinburgh: Historic Scotland, Technical Conservation Group, 2009 (Technical reference series), vol. 1, introduction.

30 David S. Mitchell, Development of the architectural iron founding industry in Scotland, Ph.D. dissertation, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, 2013, p. 579.

31 Ibid., p. 588.

32 Samuel Griffiths, Griffiths' Guide to the Iron Trade of Great Britain, op. cit. (note 18), p. 162.

33 For more information about the role and importance of Scotland within the British Empire see: John MacKenzie and T. M. Devine, Scotland and the British Empire, Oxford; New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2011 (Oxford history of the British Empire companion series).

34 David S. Mitchell, Development of the architectural iron founding industry in Scotland, op. cit. (note 30), p. 584.

35 Ibid., p. 579–589.

36 Ibid., p. 580–588.

37 Paul Dobraszczyk, Iron, Ornament and Architecture in Victorian Britain, op. cit. (note 28), p. 32–33.

38 Calcida Texeira da Costa, O Sonho e a Tecnica. A Arquitectura de ferro no Brasil, São Paulo: Edusp, 2001.

39 E. Richard McKinstry, “Books About Antiques—Trade Catalogues, 1542 to 1842 by Theodore R. Crom,” The Magazine Antiques, 1991.

40 Paul Dobraszczyk, Iron, Ornament and Architecture in Victorian Britain, op. cit. (note 28), p. 30.

41 John MacKenzie and T. M. Devine, Scotland and the British Empire, op. cit. (note 33).

42 Mónica Silva Contreras, “Los Catálogos de Piezas Constructivas y Ornamentales en Arquitectura: Artefactos Modernos del Siglo XIX y Patrimonio del Siglo XXI,” Anales del Instituto de Investigaciones Estéticas, vol. 32, no. 97, May 2011, p. 65.

43 Ibid.

44 Paul Dobraszczyk, Iron, Ornament and Architecture in Victorian Britain, op. cit. (note 28), p. 9.

45 URL: http://www.buildingconservation.com/articles/orncastiron/orncastiron.htm. Accessed 15 November 2014.

46 David S. Mitchell, Development of the architectural iron founding industry in Scotland, op. cit. (note 30).

47 Charles Driver also participated in projects in South America in collaboration with the engineer Edward Wood. The most notable were the Santiago Market in Chile, prefabricated in Scotland, and Central Station in Sao Paulo. He also did some minor work in Buenos Aires for La Boca and Ensenada railways, but these examples have not yet been studied. See Pedro Guedes, “Santiago Market before it sailed to Chile,” Arq, no. 64, December 2006, p. 10–16.

48 Paul Dobraszczyk, Iron, Ornament and Architecture in Victorian Britain, op. cit. (note 28), p. 14.

49 David S. Mitchell, Development of the architectural iron founding industry in Scotland, op. cit. (note 30), p. 209.

50 Ibid., p. 445.

51 Ibid., p. 449.

52 Paul Dobraszczyk, Iron, Ornament and Architecture in Victorian Britain, op. cit. (note 28), p. 3.

53 In November 2013, over sixty limestone lithographic stones used for printing the sixth edition of the Macfarlane’s catalogue were found being used as paving slabs in a garden. See: URL: http://lesleyanddavid.wix.com/sif-holding-site#!litho-stones/c22j5; URL: http://www.glasgowheritage.org.uk/news-archive/gcht-helps-ironwork-anoraks-rescue-rare-glasgow-work-of-art/; URL: http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/historic-designs-for-ironwork-unearthed-with-garden-slabs.21596829. Accessed 15 November 2014.

54 David S. Mitchell, Development of the architectural iron founding industry in Scotland, op. cit. (note 30), p. 449.

55 Sketchbook of James Leitch, draughtsman. Kirkintilloch (Scotland), William Patrick Library, Lion Archive, GD10/6/8/1.

56 Lion Foundry Company, Illustrated catalogue of Cast Iron Manufactures, Lion Foundry Co., [1912], vol. 1, preface.

57 E. Richard McKinstry, “Books About Antiques—Trade Catalogues, 1542 to 1842 by Theodore R. Crom,” op. cit. (note 39).

58 The Engineer, 4 February 1910, p. 128. URL: http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/images/f/fc/Er19100204.pdf. Accessed 15 November 2014.

59 The Engineer, 1 March 1931. URL: http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/images/5/53/Er19310313Supp.pdf. Accessed 15 November 2014.

60 Roy H. Campbell, “The Financing of Carron Company,” Business History, vol. 1, no. 1, December 1958, p. 21–34.

61 Ibid.

62 Roy H. Campbell, Carron Company, Edinburgh; London: Oliver and Boyd Ltd, 1961, p. 72–90.

63 URL: http://www.falkirklocalhistorysociety.co.uk/home/index.php?id=107. Accessed 15 November 2014.

64 Ian L. Donnachie, John R. Hume and Michael S. Moss, Scotland, Buxton: Moorland Pub. Co., 1977 (Historic Industrial Scenes Series), p. 64.

65 URL: http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Carron_Co. Accessed 15 November 2014.

66 Roy H. Campbell, Carron Company, op. cit. (note 62), p. 316–317.

67 Ibid., p. 320–321

68 URL: http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Carron_Co. Accessed 15 November 2014.

69 URL: http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Carron_Co and URL: www.carron.com. Accessed 15 November 2014.

70 Information taken from archive description of the collection..

71 Edinburgh (Scotland), The National Records of Scotland, GD58/6/11/41. Sales visits. July 1928. Report on Journey by S. Fraser, p. 22–6.

72 Edinburgh (Scotland), The National Records of Scotland, GD58/6/11/41. Sales visits. S. Fraser trip to Argentina report, July 1918, p. 22–6.

73 Edinburgh (Scotland), The National Records of Scotland, GD58/6/11/41. Sales visits. July 1928. Report on Journey by S. Fraser, p. 30–32.

74 For networks of empire see Gary B. Magee and Andrew S. Thompson, Empire and Globalisation: Networks of People, Goods and Capital in the British World, c. 1850–1914, Cambridge; New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 2010.

75 Edinburgh (Scotland), The National Records of Scotland, GD58/13/1Trade mark certificates.

76 Calcida Texeira da Costa, O Sonho e a Tecnica, op. cit. (note 39).

77 Scottish ironwork foundation, Macfarlane’s Architectural Ironwork, op. cit. (note 27).

78 David S. Mitchell, Development of the architectural iron founding industry in Scotland, op. cit. (note 30), p. 391.

79 Ibid.

80 Ibid.

81 Edinburgh (Scotland), The National Records of Scotland, CS96/199/1-28, dating from 1852 to 1857.

82 Edinburgh (Scotland), The National Records of Scotland, BT2/1968/589, dating from 1852 to 1857.

83 David S. Mitchell shows a trade catalogue of South Africa showing the representative agent in Cape Town. See David S. Mitchell, Development of the architectural iron founding industry in Scotland, op. cit. (note 30), p. 451.

84 Ibid., p. 436.

85 Ibid.

86 Marcela Liliana Díaz and María Cristina Fernández, “Jardín zoológico de Buenos Aires,”in Maria de las Nieves Arias Incoll (ed.), Patrimonio argentino: clubes, estadios, hoteles y paseos, Buenos Aires: Clarín, 2012 (Patrimonio argentina, 2), p. 24–33.

87 Jorge D. Tartarini, El Palacio de las Aguas Corrientes. De Gran Deposito Distribuidor a Monumento Histórico Nacional, Buenos Aires: Agua y Saneamientos Argentinos S.A. AySA, June 2012, p. 118.

88 Elisa Radovanic, Jorge D. Tartarini and Aguas Argentinas, Agua y saneamiento en Buenos Aires, 1580–1930: Riqueza y Singularidad de un Patrimonio, Buenos Aires: Aguas Argentinas, 1999, p. 73.

89 Mónica Ferrari, “Los Catálogos de Fabricación en Hierro,” in Ramón Gutiérrez (ed.), Estudio de arquitectura Follett, 1891-2008. Conder, Follett, Farmer, Buenos Aires: CEDODAL, 2008.

90 Jorge D. Tartarini, Ferrocarriles Provincia Buenos Aires, op. cit. (note 10), p. 32. Thanks to Jorge D. Tartarini and Pablo Marzilio for pictures and information.

91 John Gay, Cast Iron: Architecture and Ornament, Function and Fantasy, London: Murray, 1985, p. 11.

92 Kirkintilloch (Scotland), William Patrick Library, Lion Archive. Typewritten piece of paper, giving detail of Lion Foundry’s activities in 1931.

93 URL: http://sculpture.gla.ac.uk/view/organization.php?id=msib6_1215775172&search=lion%20foundry. Accessed 15 November 2014.

94 URL: http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Lion_Foundry. Accessed 15 November 2014.

95 Ibid.

96 URL: http://www.edlc.co.uk/heritage/auld_kirk_museum/auld_kirk_museum___collection/k6_red_telephone_kiosk.aspx. Accessed 15 November 2014.

97 J. Miller, “Taming the Lion,” Records Keeping, no. 11, October 2007, p. 24–26.

98 Romano Jodice (ed.), L’architectura del ferro. 9. L’Argentina 1850–1930, op. cit. (note 14), p. 182.

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Índice de ilustraciones

Título Figure 1: Lion Foundry, Leitch’s Gate design number 108.
Leyenda Draft in working catalogue for the third edition (left) and trade catalogue, third edition (right).
Créditos Source: Kirkintilloch (Scotland), William Patrick Library, 610/7/1/21 and 6010/7/1/13.
URL http://journals.openedition.org/abe/docannexe/image/821/img-1.jpg
Ficheros image/jpeg, 162k
Título Figure 2: Aerial view of Carron ironworks in 1928.
Créditos Source: Edinburgh (Scotland), Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland.
URL http://journals.openedition.org/abe/docannexe/image/821/img-2.jpg
Ficheros image/jpeg, 15k
Título Figure 3: Carron Company, Maple Company.
Leyenda Maple Company pictures in the Structural Book, 1924 (left) and Maple Company premises in Buenos Aires, Carron Catalogue, 1938 (right).
Créditos Source: Edinburgh (Scotland), National Records of Scotland, GD58/19/56 and GD58/16/97.
URL http://journals.openedition.org/abe/docannexe/image/821/img-3.jpg
Ficheros image/jpeg, 359k
Título Figure 4: Carron Company, design number 188 for gate and railings.
Leyenda Ornamental drawings (left) and Trade catalogue for South America, 1930 (right).
Créditos Source: Edinburgh (Scotland), National Records of Scotland, GD58/16/42 and GD58/17/116/.
URL http://journals.openedition.org/abe/docannexe/image/821/img-4.jpg
Ficheros image/jpeg, 138k
Título Figure 5: Aerial View of Saracen Foundry, 1928.
Créditos Source: Edinburgh (Scotland), Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland.
URL http://journals.openedition.org/abe/docannexe/image/821/img-5.jpg
Ficheros image/jpeg, 59k
Título Figure 6: Macfarlane Company, bandstands.
Leyenda Supplement catalogue written in Spanish (above) and Macfarlane’s bandstand number 249 in Buenos Aires Zoo (below).
Créditos Source: Shropshire (England), Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust Library and Lucia Juarez.
URL http://journals.openedition.org/abe/docannexe/image/821/img-6.jpg
Ficheros image/jpeg, 703k
Título Figure 7: Macfarlane Company, gate at San Martin Park, Mendoza, Argentina.
Leyenda Catalogue supplement written in Spanish (above) and the same gate in Macfarlane’s examples of architectural ironwork (below).
Créditos Source: Shropshire (England), Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust Library and Stirling (Scotland), Scottish Ironwork Foundation.
URL http://journals.openedition.org/abe/docannexe/image/821/img-7.jpg
Ficheros image/jpeg, 559k
Título Figure 8: Macfarlane, Sagrado Corazón School gate.
Créditos Source: Walter Macfarlane and Co., Illustrated catalogue of Macfarlane's castings, sixth edition, Glasgow, 1882, vol. 1, design number 461 and Lucia Juarez.
URL http://journals.openedition.org/abe/docannexe/image/821/img-8.jpg
Ficheros image/jpeg, 263k
Título Figure 9: Macfarlane company, urinals.
Créditos Source: Scottish ironwork foundation (ed.), Macfarlane's Architectural Ironwork, Balerno: Harlaw Heritage, 2006, p. 421, 427.
URL http://journals.openedition.org/abe/docannexe/image/821/img-9.jpg
Ficheros image/jpeg, 488k
Título Figure 10: Macfarlane company, urinals.
Créditos Urinals number 5A in Coronel Vidal Station (above) and same model in Iraola Station (below).
URL http://journals.openedition.org/abe/docannexe/image/821/img-10.jpg
Ficheros image/jpeg, 721k
Título Figure 11: Macfarlane company, water trough.
Leyenda Water trough number 27 in catalogue sixth edition, vol. 2 (left) and the same model in Paraná.
Créditos Source: Scottish ironwork foundation, Macfarlane's Architectural Ironwork, Balerno: Harlaw Heritage, 2006 and Pablo Marzilio.
URL http://journals.openedition.org/abe/docannexe/image/821/img-11.jpg
Ficheros image/jpeg, 332k
Título Figure 12: Macfarlane, showroom.
Leyenda Catalogue sixth edition, first page.
Créditos Source: Collection Lucia Juarez.
URL http://journals.openedition.org/abe/docannexe/image/821/img-12.jpg
Ficheros image/jpeg, 173k
Título Figure 13: Aerial view of Lion Foundry.
Créditos Source: Edinburgh (Scotland), Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland.
URL http://journals.openedition.org/abe/docannexe/image/821/img-13.jpg
Ficheros image/jpeg, 438k
Título Figure 14: Lion’s finishing shop (left) and Lion’s telephone box (right).
Créditos Source: Kirkintilloch (Scotland), William Patrick Library and Lucia Juarez.
URL http://journals.openedition.org/abe/docannexe/image/821/img-14.jpg
Ficheros image/jpeg, 147k
Título Figure 15: Lion Company, cast iron window made for Plaza Constitución Station (left) and cast iron window in workshop (right).
Créditos Source: Kirkintilloch (Scotland), William Patrick Library.
URL http://journals.openedition.org/abe/docannexe/image/821/img-15.jpg
Ficheros image/jpeg, 162k
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Referencia electrónica

Lucia Juarez, «Documenting Scottish Architectural Cast Iron in Argentina»ABE Journal [En línea], 5 | 2014, Publicado el 01 diciembre 2014, consultado el 29 marzo 2024. URL: http://journals.openedition.org/abe/821; DOI: https://doi.org/10.4000/abe.821

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Autor

Lucia Juarez

PhD Candidate, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom

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