In 'A Photographer in Old Peking', Hedda Morrison wrote that wire making was 'a process used for silver, copper and brass. The metal was hammered out into lengths roughly the diameter of a little finger. At one end it would be hammered out into a much finer wire, fed through a hole in an iron die and attached to the hand-operated windlass. The wire would be forced through the die and the process was repeated with smaller holes in the die until the desired diameter was achieved (p. 204)'.

Hedda has photographed the man working, his face averted from the camera, to achieve a greater sense of naturalism. She rarely used a flash and so was dependent on available light. Many workshops and interiors were small and dark, restricting her choice of indoor subjects.

This is one of a large number of photographs that were taken by Hedda Morrison (1908-1991) during her years of residence in Peking (Beijing), China, 1933-1946.

Exhibited in 'An Asian experience: 1933-67', organised by the Asian Studies Association of Australia, Fisher Library Foyer, University of Sydney, 12-30 May 1986.

Reproduced in Hedda Morrison, 'A photographer in Old Peking', Hong Kong, Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 1985, p. 204, with the caption: 'Wire making, a process used for silver, copper and brass. The metal was hammered out into lengths roughly the diameter of a little finger. At one end it would be hammered out into a much finer wire, fed through a hole in an iron die and attached to the hand-operated windlass. The wire would be forced through the die and the process was repeated with smaller holes in the die until the desired diameter was achieved'.

Black and white photograph showing a man at a hand operated windlass drawing wire. There are coils of wire hanging from the walls of the room and leaning against the windlass post.

Photographed: Morrison, Hedda; Beijing, China

Made: 1933 - 1946

92/1414-221

340 mm

290 mm