I'm sure I've seen this stone relief alpaca before on my wanderings around Saltaire's Salts Mill but I don't think I've ever photographed it or posted it on my blog. The alpaca is a creature that pops up all over the place locally, in statues and on buildings. The story (true as far as I know) is that in 1836 Titus Salt came across some bales of alpaca wool in a warehouse in Liverpool. He obviously thought: "Alpaca some of this in my bag to take home". He brought some away to experiment with and then returned and bought the whole load. He and his team worked out a way of spinning it to make a fine, lustrous cloth that became very fashionable with well-dressed Victorian ladies, including the Queen. It contributed in no small part to the growth of his business empire and his personal fortune, and therefore to the development of Salts Mill and the surrounding village of Saltaire.
Oh, groan! "Alpaca some of this.." Actually, I love puns. Ad wouldn't have expected to see alpacas in the architecture. Interesting.
ReplyDeleteA bit of a surprise to me too! So Salt owed some of his success to these wonderful wooly animals.
ReplyDeleteI recently viewed a documentary from South America. The alpaca are still being shepherded up in the mountains. The wool is regularly sold to Chinese Hong Kong.
ReplyDeleteA nice tribute to the animal.
ReplyDeleteA splendid architectural detail
ReplyDeleteThere are some places in the US who raise alpaca and sell the wool. Did Sir Titus ever try to bring some to England? Just curious.....
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