Best Birthday Present Ever

[Del the cat]

It was my B'day over the hols. As a surprise my family got me enrolled as a patron of the Mary Rose which gives me access to the private collection.
My daughter organised a visit and the curator of the collection opened up specially on my birthday so I could look at all the longbows and other artefacts I got to handle some of the bows! He was a great bloke and went way above and beyond the call of duty.
The best bit was seeing the knotty wobbly bows rather than the 'best' ones which are usually illustrated. There are deffinitelt some character bows there. One had a big knot in the middle and cleary visible grain violations on the back mostly running along the length. I'll post some pics later.
Interestingly some were obviously distorted by the weight of silt on them (IMO) and gave the impression of huge reflex. Quite a few just showed that slight reflex you get when a stave is split out from the log. I got the feeling that the bows hadn't been used much, if at all. (Most were found in stored in chests)
It took a couple of days to get the grin of my face!
Del

[Ian.]

That does sound excellent, cant wait to see the pictures.

[Ifrit617]

Awesome Del! I really can't wait to see those pics.

Jon

[Dag]

That must have been a wonderful experience indeed Del! I can only imagine the feeling of holding one of those great bows. I can't wait to see pictures either!

[davkt]

Sounds amazing. Even the bows on display are worth a look (and my 7 year old was asking today when she could go again) so the back room collection must be fantastic!

[Del the cat]

Here's a few pics.



These show one of the 'best', the most wobbly character bow and the rings and knot showing on its back.
You can see the rack of bows on the left of the pic.
Del

[gstoneberg]

Wow, that's way cool!  Congratulations.  What an awesome gift.

George

[Gus]

WOW!!!

Yes Sir!

That is Bloody AWE Inspiring!

What a Great Birthday Present! 

Thank You for sharing.

-gus

[Ringeck85]

That is incredible!  I can't decide whether handling antique bows or swords is better (there is a much greater quantity of surviving swords to be fair), but they're both pretty freakin awesome!

[blackhawk]

COOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL!!!!!!!!!

[adb]

It was also a huge thrill for me visiting the MR Museum. Some of the yew bows are truly massive. I didn't get to handle any, but just looking was a privilege.

[ErictheViking]

That is insanely cool Mr. Cat.  those babies are huge!  I bet at night you go to sleep thinking of making a replica now!

[Del the cat]

I'm making a 90# longbow now which is about all I can manage, it's been influenced by those beauts.
I'd just love to see one of those medieval bowyers at work.
Del

[Dane]

What a specacular b-day gift. The inspiration alone must be tremendous, to see and hold these massive bows. I recently viewed a neanderthal stone tool in a local museum, and was very motivated just by that alone. Nothing like viewing (and holding, you lucky cat) such wondrous artifacts.

[CraigMBeckett]

Lucky you Del.

Do you know the archive number of the bow you show in the photos?

For those Interested can you tell us what it costs to be a patron?

Have you changed your mind about big (in length) bows now as I seem to recall you making some disparaging remarks about them.

Craig.

By the way Del, Happy Birthday.