Albert & Meyer Baltimore

[dcgm4]

Earlier today I won an eBay auction for this knife marked "Albert & Meyer Baltimore." I've spent the past few days trying to find information about Albert & Meyer without much luck. All I could find was that Goins guesses this stamp dates from around 1875 to 1900. Also I'm pretty sure this is a contract knife made by Miller Bros based on the fact that screws were used to secure the handles rather than pins. Does anyone know anything about this company?

[Jody744]

No info, but cool knife!

[junebug]

all i can find is....................

ALBERT - FRANCIS ALBERT & CO. - BALTIMORE,MD - HARDWARE WHOLESALER - 1887-19??

HOPE THIS HELPS A LIL IN YER RESEARCH

[dcgm4]

No info, but cool knife!

Thanks, Jody!

all i can find is....................

ALBERT - FRANCIS ALBERT & CO. - BALTIMORE,MD - HARDWARE WHOLESALER - 1887-19??

HOPE THIS HELPS A LIL IN YER RESEARCH

Thanks, junebug! That may very well help me a lot. I've found a couple other possibilities, but the date Francis Albert & Co. was founded syncs up better with the years Miller Bros was in operation than the others.

There was also a Jacob Albert & Co. which imported hardware and cutlery, but it was founded in 1805. Albert's sons, Augustus James and William Julian, succeeded him in the business. Jacob Albert died in 1854. His sons retired in 1855. I don't know if the business closed then or if it changed management/ownership. If Jacob Albert & Co. closed prior to 1863 then this can't be the company associated with the knife, assuming Miller Bros was the manufacturer.

There was also a Fred Albert who dealt in "fancy goods" circa 1871. I'm not sure what "fancy goods" are exactly, but I doubt they are knives.

[junebug]

GREAT!
I FEEERGOT TA ADD.. .......THAT INFO WAS FROM
blades guide to knives & values 7th edition ed. by: STEVE SHACKLEFORD
about 8 books and that's all i could find remotely close

i'd bet francis had a role in that knife.......along with MILLER BROS. as you are thinkin...

[0078]

No help with the name, cool knife. I have an old remington with covered back springs like yours the frame from what I can tell look very similar. I can see where the m/b would fit in, I really don't know or have I've seen screws for the pens on any other brands?

[dcgm4]

GREAT!
I FEEERGOT TA ADD.. .......THAT INFO WAS FROM
blades guide to knives & values 7th edition ed. by: STEVE SHACKLEFORD
about 8 books and that's all i could find remotely close

i'd bet francis had a role in that knife.......along with MILLER BROS. as you are thinkin...

Thanks for the source! There seems to be very little information about this knife, so any lead is helpful.

Francis Albert is the leading candidate right now, but I can't discount Albert & Meyer may be a separate company just yet. I've been looking at old records of hardware dealers and I have yet to see anyone named Meyer associated with Francis. I wish I could find out something about this Meyer guy. So far that name hasn't turned up in any of my searches of old Baltimore hardware dealers or cutlers.

No help with the name, cool knife. I have an old remington with covered back springs like yours the frame from what I can tell look very similar. I can see where the m/b would fit in, I really don't know or have I've seen screws for the pens on any other brands?

Thanks, 0078. It's interesting that you have a Remington similar to this knife. The seller said it may be connected to Remington but didn't say how he had made the connection. Would you mind posting a picture of your Remington for comparison?

I'm leaning more towards a Miller Bros connection because of the screws. I'm not aware of any other company that used screws either.

[peanut740]

No doubt.Miller Brothers made.

[dcgm4]

Well, I can officially cross Jacob Albert & Co. off the list of candidates. I found an old article stating that Jacob's sons foresaw the conflict between the North and South and closed the firm shortly before the start of the Civil War. Miller Bros wasn't founded until about two years after the war began, so there's no way Jacob Albert & Co. could have contracted Miller Bros to manufacture this knife.

[dcgm4]

I finally got the information I was looking for. Albert & Meyer was a hardware wholesaler owned by Frederick Albert and Henry H. Meyer. The company is listed in Baltimore directories from 1888-1892, though I'll need to do more research to see if they're listed in earlier or later ones. Thanks to all who helped me research this knife.

[knives-are-quiet]

This knife also uses a covered back spring instead of a center pin.
Nice knife.......... But I wouldn't have spent that much.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ALBERT-MEYER-BA ... 7675.l2557

[junebug]

AWESOME ,DCGM

LOVE THE RESEARCH PART OF THIS HOBBY........YA DID GOOD MA FRIEND...I WAS TRYIN ON MY END STILL TOO...AND NOTHIN........NOSEY?? CURIOUS?? HAHAH I DUNNO...BUT GLAD YA FOUND SOME ANSWERS....I WAS GOIN CRAZY...LOLOLOLOL....WHAT FUN!!!!

QUESTION.....DO YOU SEE ANY LINK TO "FRANCIS".....FREDERICKS SON OR DAD MAYBE?????

VERY INTERESTING " MILLLER BROS" CONTRACT MADE KNIFE FOR A HARDWARE WHOLESALER



JOSHUA

[dcgm4]

Joshua, I agree with you completely. The research part is half the fun in my book. It can get tedious and frustrating when you keep running into dead ends so you definitely need to love mysteries and history to keep going, but when you finally solve the puzzle it's a great feeling.

I actually did find a link between Francis and Frederick. I try to report on these things only when I'm 99.9% certain, but I'll make an exception this time. I found this advertisement for Albert Brothers which, as you can see, dealt in hardware. Notice the brothers are Francis and Frederick!

Now, for me, just this ad alone isn't enough to prove these are the same Francis of Francis Albert & Co. and the Frederick from Albert & Meyer. It's only highly suggestive. Luckily, I did find some proof! This envelope for Francis Albert & Co. clearly states the company is the successor to Albert Brothers.

I still haven't found proof that Frederick of Albert & Meyer is the same Frederick of Albert Brothers, but I think it's a fairly safe bet it's the same person. This is just supposition, but it seems that for some reason Frederick left Albert Brothers so Francis found some new business partners and renamed the company Francis Albert & Co. The question here is why did Frederick leave Albert Brothers? And now I've given myself yet another puzzle to solve.

Originally I was going to report these findings once I could confirm Frederick of Albert & Meyer was indeed Francis' brother, but I didn't want to leave you in suspense, my friend. That'd just be too cruel.

[junebug]

WOW................... HOW COOL IS THAT,DCGM

THANKS MAN! APPRECIATE THE INFO..............THIS TYPE OF STUFF HELPS MAKE "AAPK" THE SITE IT IS!!!

LOVE THIS KIND OF STUFF!!!! AND IT WILL NOW BE HERE FOR THE "FUTURE COLLECTORS"......AWESOME I TELL YA!!!

GREAT RESEARCH BRO....AND I HOPE YA KEEP US UPDATED!!!!!

WONDER IF "MEYERS".....WAS THE "CO." in ABLERT and CO.?????
MAYBE HE WAS JUST A FINANCIAL BACKER AFTER THE BROTHERS SPLIT???....HHEHEHEHEH
CAN'T WAIT TA SEE WHAT YA FIND!!!!!!

[dcgm4]

I've been trying to research Henry Meyer, but there's not much on him. I can find nothing on him prior to his involvement in Albert & Meyer (1888-1892). After 1892, the next time he pops up is in 1901 as a dealer in quarry equipment and an agent for contractors.

I'd love to know who Francis Albert partnered with after Frederick left, but so far I'm having even less luck there than with Meyer.