UNIQUE UNSHARPENED SCULPTURED CARVED SILVER PIQUE 1830s EXHIBITION WHITTLER +BOX

Description: UNIQUE UNSHARPENED SCULPTURED CARVED SILVER PIQUE 1830s EXHIBITION WHITTLER +BOX UNIQUE UNSHARPENED SCULPTURED CARVED SILVER PIQUE 1830s EXHIBITION WHITTLER +BOX ONE-OF-A-KIND UNSHARPENED EXHIBITION QUALITY POCKET KNIFE SERPENTINE HALF WHITTLER PATTERN ~ WHARNCLIFFE MASTER BLADE CARVED / SCULPTURED / SILVER PIQUE` EXHIBITION MOTHER OF PEARL SILVER PINS & ESCUTCHEON BY SCARCE SHEFFIELD MAKER GEORGE ALLEN CIRCA 1830’s WITH ORIGINAL CARDBOARD BOX George Allen was an early and rare Sheffield cutler (b. 1794 – d. 1883 at age 88) who founded his cutlery business in 1818 manufacturing pen knifes and razors on Eyre Lane / Sheffield; yet he doesn’t appear in the Sheffield directory until 1837. By 1841, he was also listed as a manufacturer of spring-knives. His residence was in Duke Street where he lived with his wife Elizabeth and his son Robert (b. 1829 – d. 1898 at age 68). By the 1850’s, George Allen’s address incorporated his residence and manufacturing named Duke Street Cutlery Works, Park. His son Robert became a principal in the Cutlery business and in 1861, the firm advertised in the Sheffield directory and also the London Goldsmiths and Silversmith Directory, with its extensive range of “the best pen and pocketknives”, including stiletto knives. The firm relocated to Granville Works, Granville Street, Park; the previous address of Pryor Brothers who had retired. Allen & Son rented the factory until 1877 that included a manager’s dwelling house, 4 warehouses, a counting house, 4 dressing and burnishing rooms, an engine house and steam engine, grinding wheel with 17 troughs and shafting for about 40 cutlers, 10 forging shops, a steel house, packing room, stable, coach house and other buildings and a spacious yard, reservoir, and unfailing supply of water for the steam engine. By 1879, Robert Allen became the owner and continued to manufacture pen and pocketknives, and also sportsman knives. The Allen & Sons mark was 3 Maltese crosses, and also acquired the mark of John Barber. By 1881 the factory employed 30 men and 14 girls. George Allen died on June 1st, 1883, aged 88. Robert Allen died on June 3rd, 1898, aged 68, and the firm was taken over by Joseph Elliot. This is a an early, extremely rare, and desirable, very high quality, fine unsharpened condition, Sheffield made 2 bladed Serpentine Wharncliffe Half Whittler pattern Exhibition quality pocketknife, circa 1830’s by the scarce Sheffield maker George Allen, crafted long before his son joined the firm. Serpentine Half Whittler patten knives have a Master blade at one end and a knife blade on the opposite end that designates a true half Whittler Pattern, i.e., both blades being knife blades rather than having a nail blade, button loop, or scissors in lieu of a knife blade other than the Master blade. This Serpentine True Half Whittler pattern with a Wharncliffe Master blade has scalloped, carved, and silver pin pique` Exhibition Mother of Peal scales before the oceans were polluted. The serpentine whittler, as well as the half whitter, is considered to be one of the most visually appealing of all Antique Pocket knives; and this piece is the only half whittler I have ever seen with scalloped, carved, and silver pique Mother of Pearl scales. This elegant pocketknife is completely handmade, i.e., hand forged, hand ground, hand tempered, hand sculptured / carved / silver pique` pearl, hand polished and hand fitted with only the simplest of hand tools. This Exhibition quality pocketknife is an example of the Best Quality that Sheffield Master Cutlers could produce at this time. This is an extremely high-quality pocketknife was made in Sheffield, the knife capitol of the world at the time, and for hundreds of years previously. Almost all cutleries sold in America during this period were Sheffield made. This high quality, eye appealing Wharncliffe Serpentine bolsterless pattern Exhibition quality knife was the way Master Cutlers of the firm showed off to showcase their exquisite Artisanship and Craftsmanship. Their values range from High to Very High depending on their eye appeal, pattern, unsharpened, uncarried, extreme age, rarity and condition. Exhibition knives were created to be displayed in a factory showroom or at Exhibitions. They were created by the Master Cutlers of the firm, using the best forger, the best grinder, the best polisher, and the best fitter; all to demonstrate the quality of Artisanship and Craftsmanship of the best Master Cutlers of the firm. This gem of a pocketknife was made by the firms best Cutlery artisan at this time, and undoubtedly was made by the firms Owner and Master Cutler George Allen who had the skills to produce Exhibition quality cutlery. Sometimes it is difficult to differentiate between a knife made for Exhibition, and an Exhibition Quality knife. Some early 1800s Exhibition knives were made by Master Cutlers and purposefully not marked so the piece would be judged on its merits alone when submitted to a Cutlery competition. This piece has hallmarks of a piece made for Exhibition only, i.e., bolsterless, unique Exhibition quality sculptured, carved, and silver pique` pinned Mother of pearl scales, silver pivot and backspring pins, exquisite Artisanship, Craftsmanship, and only one of a kind pattern known. Orginal Exhibition knives were typically transferred to other firms with the acquisition, merger or buy outs of the hundreds of English Cutlery firms active during the 1800's. Some pieces were gifted to business associates, some given as gifts or presentation pieces, and some found their way into the private sector and were sold off; with some being used and actually carried by the new owner. It was very fashionable for Gentlemen to carry a fancy pocketknife as a standard accouterment. Although a copy of this knife could have been custom made to order for a presentation which was common in this period, the escutcheon plate is uninscribed, and no other example is known. And only an Aristocrat, Royalty, or extremely wealthy Gentleman of means would have been able to commission a custom made to order pocketknife of this quality with a quill blade meant for sharpening goose quills for gentleman who knew how to read and write. The superb quality of this period of cutlery has never been duplicated and had an especially meaningful interest to gentlemen of means then, and Advanced knife collectors today. All blades retain their original shape with all of the original mirror crocus of Iron polish found on almost all Antique Sheffield knives, save the spidering noted. This time-consuming final polish was painstakingly done on a wooden wheel with a leather outside edge that coated with wax and fine black crocus of Iron powder that would impart the high luster final polish. Both blades have very strong back springs, and the blades should be eased into the hilt when closing and avoid hard snapping the blades that could chip the blade edge if it bottoms out or can create a rub mark. The Master Wharncliffe blade is hot stamped on one side "ALLEN”, “SUPERIOR”, “CUTLERY" in 3 lines. The moniker “superior cutlery” one of a few similar hot stampings found only on 1830’s Sheffield knives, i.e., elegant cutlery, splendid cutlery, et al. Note there is no typical Sheffield city stamping; a rare feature found almost exclusively on early Sheffield made 1830’s knives. The knife overall is 6 3/4” blade tip to blade tip open and 3 3/8” long closed. Weight is .8 ounce or 25 grams, and 1 .1 oz. or 33 grams with the orginal box. The Wharncliffe Master blade is made from 3/32" stock, is 2 " long with a grind to the top of the blade on both sides about ¾ of the way from the tip towards the ricasso. The Master blade has all of its orginal bright shiny Sheffield signature crocus of Iron polish that is difficult to photograph. All knives that are around 185 years old will have some naturally occurring age spots, spidering or handling marks. Naturally occurring spidering marks on the blades are desirable as they authenticate the blade's genuine age as it takes 100+ years to get naturally occurring spidering on a blade. The front side of the Master blade has some scattered exceptionally light remnants of naturally occurring spidering age spots on the blade that have been wiped clean of the typical black coloration and are hard to see, but visible when reflecting light off the mirror polish. Note the one tiny spec of remaining, untouched black spidering at the edge of the nail nick. The back side of the Master blade has a small patch of spidering at the tip rear of the blade near the ricasso and another small patch on the ricasso; both have been wiped clean of their black coloration, leaving small light patches of surface roughage with the original crocus of iron background. The remaining back blade also has light remnants of naturally occurring spidering age spots on the blade that have been wiped clean of the typical black coloration and are hard to see, but visible when reflecting light off the mirror polish. The slightly sway back quill blade is 1 ½” long and is unmarked. This elongated quill blade has a thin swedge ground from the tip almost to the ricasso along the top back edge only. The ricasso has the very early feature, found on late 1700’s and early 1800’s Sheffield knives, of having a kick on the ricasso that was used to adjust the level of the quill blade inside the liners to ensure the blade edge does not bottom out when closing hard and to ensure that the nail nick is above the top scale edge for easy opening. The quill blade has a half stop, i.e., the blade ricasso is ground to allow the blade to stop perpendicular to the hilt; a feature found on high quality pocketknives. The quill blade was designed to be used to sharpen Goose quills used by gentlemen who were literate and needed to write and sign documents. Although the small telescoping pocket dip pens with a retractable pen tip were introduced in the 1830’s, a gentleman of means still preferred the option of using this blade so they could pull their fancy accoutrement from their pocket, and in a pre-Victorian flair, sign a document using this necessary tool. These blades were also used for opening envelopes, cutting string, et al. The quill blade has all of its orginal bright shiny Sheffield signature crocus of Iron polish with one tiny spot of cleaned spidering near the nail nick and a small spot of cleaned spidering on the back blade flat. Note that 4 pieces of the Serpentine pattern Exhibition Mother of pearl scales are scalloped at the ends on both sides in a popular pre-Victoria shell pattern, and also for the edges of the center panels on both sides with 4 center dividers. All 4 panels have finely carved diagonal cut borders. The bottom pearl panels on both sides are also carved with cross hatch diamond patterns, with the raised 3-dimensional diamonds embellished with tiny silver pins called pique` work. This the only pocketknife I have seen from this period with all 3 enhancements, i.e., scalloped, carved and pique silver pin Exhibition Mother of pearl scales. Note that 3 of the 16 minuscule silver pique` pins are missing and could easily be replaced but have been left as found. After around 185 years, the Exhibition Mother of pearl scales are MINT, with no cracks or chips; suggesting this knife was put up, stored properly in its original cardboard sleeve, and rarely handled. The 4-piece scales are a select Exhibition quality Mother of Pearl that shows multicolored iridescence with several color variations; characteristics only found on Pearl obtained before the oceans became polluted. The iridescence is very hard to photograph, and the front 2 panels and the back checkered panels are especially brilliant and show up even in dim indoor lighting in shades of pink, green and purple. Note that the carving to the Pearl scales is hand sculptured by a pearl carving specialist with a series of deep engraving patterns that complement the desirous Serpentine pattern; yet the pearl is only 1/16" thick. Fancy carvings on very thin material is a hallmark of Master carvers and found on a few Exhibition knives. Some Exhibition knives have no escutcheon plate because of the risk of destroying the expensive, thin, premium carved material is too great. Others have the early style overlaid escutcheon attached with 2 pins. Note that both the unadorned and the early style overlaid escutcheon plates on carved premium material examples are found on the 3 published mint Exhibition W crown R period (1830-37) New England Treasure Trove folding dirks published in the Sheffield Exhibition Knife Book. The practice of inlaying escutcheon plates into the scale material requires a parser tool (bow fiddle) and template; a practice that followed the earlier overlaid & pinned name plate pattern. Both types were used during the mid-1830’s until the inlaying of escutcheon plates became standard in the late 1830’s and later. This Exhibition knife has a small silver escutcheon plate with stylized ends and is affixed with two tiny silver pins. Note that this name plate has the early feature of being simply overlaid on the pearl and is pinned and uninscribed. Note this knife has no bolsters that would otherwise support the blade pins. Bolsterless knives are one characteristic found on many Exhibition knives. It is especially impractical to have blade pins secured by only the very thin inside brass liners and the outside very thin delicate sculptured / carved / pique` pearl. This feature was a collaboration between a Master Cutler and a Master fitter showing off their decades of knife making skills. Also note the knife is held together with only 3 silver pins. Obviously, silver is too soft to be used for blade pins but is used to avoid cracking the scales and is used on Exhibition knives intended only for display that will be rarely opened and closed; and never used or carried. Note that the front scales are also secured by the 2 almost invisible tiny silver pins of the escutcheon plate, and the back side scales have 2 tiny brass pins to help secure them to the liners. If this knife were dropped once in the last 185+ years, the Pearl would have cracked or shattered, and the knife ruined. This piece has scalloped, carved and silver pique` Exhibition Pearl, is bolster less, early Maker marked, unsharpened, with ALL the whistles and bells in one of the most striking and desirable patterns extant; a Serpentine Wharncliffe True Half Whittler Exhibition knife. Early 1830’s Exhibition Pocket knives in fine unsharpened condition are impossible to find. Although this detailed description is included for clarity, any naturally occurring aging is understood and acceptable imperfections; and are insignificant to the overall presentation of this one of-a-kind magnificent Cutlery Exhibition knife that remains in fine+ condition; and demonstrates that there are very few, if any, perfect knives that are around 185 years old. Sheffield cutlers created the finest 1800’s handmade knives extant. Exhibition knives were created by the firms Master Cutlers to be displayed, then retired to the factory collections. These knives were made for quality, beauty, display, culture, and posterity; and not intended for sale or use. Many were show pieces for Exhibitions to compete in Cutlery competitions for gold and silver medals. This one-of-a-kind Exhibition quality knife with the original box, would be the centerpiece of any pocket knife collection. Overall, this handsome, eye appealing, rare, fancy, 2 bladed Gentleman's pocketknife is in fine+ condition; especially considering its extreme 185 years age; and is as good as it gets. This is an eye popping, sculptured, carved, silver pique` pearl , connoisseur quality, investment grade knife; perfect for any knife, Sheffield, Antique, Whittler, Half Whittler, Wharncliffe, pocketknife or smalls collector. Ask a current knife maker artist` if he could recreate a Masterpiece like this using only simple hand tools, what they would charge? The number of surviving examples of mintY, unsharpened, uncarried, connoisseur investment quality 1800’s antique knives is extremely limited, rarely offered, and an investment for a discerning collector. 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Price: 2245.5 USD

Location: Fairfield, California

End Time: 2024-11-03T05:18:44.000Z

Shipping Cost: 0 USD