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Brass Rubbing Center

Located in the Bill Patton Garden behind the Allen Elizabethan Theatre, Tudor Guild's Brass Rubbing Center has 73 facsimiles of historic English brasses.  Choose the Brass, the paper, the color of wax, and an expert Tudor Guild volunteer will help you create a masterpiece for your home or for a treasured gift.  This activity is fun for all ages and no experience required!

Tudor Guild's Brass Rubbing Center hours are 11am to 3pm Wednesday through Saturday starting with the opening of the Allen Elizabethan Theatre and running until Labor Day.  Special group appointments can be made through the Tudor Guild Gift Shop at 541-482-0940 or by email at brassrubbing@tudorguild.org.  Prices start at $7 and increase depending on the size of the brass you choose to rub.

Check out "The Rub", our blog about brass rubbing and at our Facebook page you can see a catalog of some of our more popular Brasses. 

 

 

Commemorative brasses began appearing in churches and cathedrals in Europe in the in the 12th century.  Persons pictured on the brasses hoped to receive prayers from the living, thus speeding their progress to heaven.  As a result of this practice we are left with a rich documentation in brass of the people of medieval society, their costume, classes and trades.

An age old pastime, brass rubbing was probably in fashion by 1656.  A painting of that date shows a group of children taking a rubbing off the floor of an old church in Delft, Holland.  By affixing a piece of paper over a brass or stone, and rubbing it with wax called heelball, early enthusiasts obtained a close copy of the images on the brass.  The method remains essentially the same to this day.

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