Doing my research

Before I can get started on replicating the Leander trophy oar from 1891, I have quite a bit of research to do.  This starts with the original colour of the oar.

These days the club rows with pink oars (officially “cerise”) but the colour has varied over time.  The club history refers to the oars in the 19th century variously being described as “scarlet”, "light crimson”, or “red”.  That’s a long way from pink!

This Leander oar from 1898 is a different shade, and clearly not as deteriorated, but still obviously not in original condition, so I went on the hunt to see what I could find.

After considerable digging I unearthed this 1900 Leander trophy oar, which was sold at auction a few years ago, and which was in excellent condition.

What is really exciting is that the lettering is done in exactly the same style as the 1891 oar, which means it was done by the same painter.  That means the original colour of both would have been the same.  So, now I can have an oil based enamel paint mixed to exactly this shade.

The other thing I have determined is that the 1891 oar was originally gilded with gold leaf, rather than being painted with gold paint.  After all these years it can be hard to tell.  The 19891 oar doesn’t have the “lustre” associated with gold leaf, but would more likely to do with the fact more than a couple of years have gone by.

I looked carefully at some other trophy oars from the 1890s, and some displayed paint cracking on the lettering, and others did not.  The ones that showed cracking were also very discoloured.  Gold leaf stands the test of time better, often outlasting well beyond the failure of the pain beneath.

So gold leaf it is.  That’s great by me, because gilding is my great strength.

Next post, I’ll talk about finding a physical replica for a 130 year old oar!