Just how does one go about mapping 500 years of fine art/craftsmen training? Seeking the continuity of training yet incorporating the individuality of the craftsmen/artist is important in describing the evolution of a decorative art niche across centuries. The approach for analysis of the Edinburgh Goldsmiths in my new book with my co-author wife, novelist Janice Dietert, was to "Maintain the Chain". That is to use a family tree/genetic/hereditary approach to the continuous thread of artisanship training spanning 500 years among the Edinburgh goldsmiths. What did this approach reveal? Check out the excerpt and of course the book itself for more.

The book maps the training of famous goldsmith families such as the Heriots, Crawfords, Dennistouns, Penmans, McKenzies, Cunninghams, Crichtons and Kers across 15 generations to the last of the apprentice/masters, Henry Roy Tatton. It also includes many individuals who became famous in other professions. Among these are John Law the famous economist/financier, Henry Raeburn the reknowned Scottish portrait artist, William Ged inventor of the stereotype process and various members of the Coutts family of bankers.

Additionally, many new world goldsmiths and jewelers started their training as Edinburgh apprentices. These are among the more than 1,200 apprentices covered in the book. One of Colonial Williamsburg's own goldmsiths left Edinburgh after political turmoil and others settled in places like New York City in the 19th century. A table of migrating Edinburgh goldsmiths is included in the book.

Finally, the inclusion of more than 130 maker's marks shown in the context of the training trees illustrates that apprentices frequently honored their master and/or father by incoporating elements from the master's own mark into their own maker's mark.

As for conclusions...it helped apprentices to have an exceptionally talented goldsmith as a master. But it was at least as important that the master was a quality teacher and the apprentice a gifted student.

For this and more..check out
The Edinburgh Goldsmiths I: Training, Marks, Output and Demographics.