Keeper of the Gate: Philip Simmons Ironwork in Charleston, South Carolina

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Simmons's Ironwork: From Sketch to Finished Product

The following pages showcase select conceptual design sketches by Philip Simmons accompanied by a recent photograph of the completed ironwork piece.

"Master Blacksmith Philip Simmons" with scrolls above and below, sketch by Philip Simmons, Philip Simmons Collection, courtesy of the Avery Research Center.

"Master Blacksmith Philip Simmons" with scrolls above and below, sketch by Philip Simmons, Philip Simmons Collection, courtesy of the Avery Research Center.

The Philip Simmons Collection at the Avery Research Center, donated by the Philip Simmons Foundation, primarily features preparatory graphite drawings of commissioned works and estimates of Simmons's decorative ironwork from 1984 to 2004, as well as some undated drawings. The collection also includes personal papers with photographs and business-related documents from 1977-2007. The Avery Research Center digitized this collection to go into the Lowcountry Digital Library through the support of the Gaylord and Dorothy Donelley Foundation.