A 170-Year Old Beauty

[deo-pa]

I recently purchased this English silver fruit knife. The blade of this shadow knife is inscribed: “Presented to Mr. J. Morton, late Postmaster of Spilsby as a token of respect from the Messengers of that office. Sept. 20th, 1851.” It was presented to him on the day he retired.

The knife is mint, never sharpened, measures 3-3/8 inches closed, and has its original case. It has brass liners and iridescent chamfered mother-of-pearl handles. The back spring is tooled. The reverse side of the blade is bright-cut engraved with rose sprigs and has five hallmarks: the Birmingham anchor, lion passant, young Victoria head, “GU” maker’s mark (George Unite), and the date letter “C” for 1851.

I watched this knife for over a year in an Etsy shop in France. The price dropped occasionally but remained high. Many months ago I made an offer and it was rejected, but I couldn't get the darn thing out of my mind. Recently the euros to dollars exchange rate moved favorably in our direction; I made another offer and this time he accepted.

Dennis
PS - Spilsby is a town in east central England about 25 miles from the North Sea (see map)

[beresman]

Very cool! Nice snag!

[1967redrider]

That's a gorgeous knife, and a great pickup, congrats!

[FRJ]

A truly beautiful knife, Dennis.
Congratulation.

[orvet]

Beautiful knife! Congratulations!

[313 Mike]

Wow that is really impressive. The details on the inscription and the engraving is remarkable, especially for 170 years ago.
Forgive my ignorance, but how was it done at that time in history? with what kind of tool? Also, was it done before the blade was heat treated?

[treefarmer]

Very interesting!
Congratulations on a great purchase.
Treefarmer

[Ivoryman]

I recently purchased this English silver fruit knife. The blade of this shadow knife is inscribed: “Presented to Mr. J. Morton, late Postmaster of Spilsby as a token of respect from the Messengers of that office. Sept. 20th, 1851.” It was presented to him on the day he retired.

The knife is mint, never sharpened, measures 3-3/8 inches closed, and has its original case. It has brass liners and iridescent chamfered mother-of-pearl handles. The back spring is tooled. The reverse side of the blade is bright-cut engraved with rose sprigs and has five hallmarks: the Birmingham anchor, lion passant, young Victoria head, “GU” maker’s mark (George Unite), and the date letter “C” for 1851.

I watched this knife for over a year in an Etsy shop in France. The price dropped occasionally but remained high. Many months ago I made an offer and it was rejected, but I couldn't get the darn thing out of my mind. Recently the euros to dollars exchange rate moved favorably in our direction; I made another offer and this time he accepted.

Dennis
PS - Spilsby is a town in east central England about 25 miles from the North Sea (see map)

Great score, I really like the inscription and the reverse side of the blade with all the symbols. Thanks for showing that one, don't see knives like that very often. Kudos to you for pursuing the hunt for so long and for bagging the trophy.

[garddogg56]

[deo-pa]

... how was it done at that time in history? with what kind of tool? Also, was it done before the blade was heat treated?

Mike, it's a fruit knife so the blade is silver not hardened steel. Silver won't corrode from the acid in fruit. It was done by hand engraving with steel scribes and probably some small punches on the reverse for the roses, etc., although sometimes those were done by hand too.

Thanks gentlemen for your kind remarks.

Dennis

[glennbad]

What a beauty, Dennis!!!

[eveled]

Very very nice pick up. Congratulations.

If its not too much trouble I’d like to see the tooled back spring.

[ken98k]

Nice!

[Paladin]

Now, that is a dandy! What a beautiful knife.

Ray

[tvic]

What a find, Dennis! Congrats!

[tnorton]

Great Knife - Great Story - Great History

[tongueriver]

Words fail me; absolutely fabulous, Dennis! Congratulations!

[TPK]

So old & still in mint condition! Super score Dennis! Congrats!

[Jody744]

That is B@da$$!!!!!!

[Madmarco]

That's a great score Dennis! I've made some great purchases from Etsy, all with perfect results!

[deo-pa]

If its not too much trouble I’d like to see the tooled back spring.

It was tough to photograph eveled, but you can get a pretty good idea from the attached photo.

I forgot to mention in my OP that it also has a half-stop and very good snap as well.

Dennis

[JamieinWV]

When I saw 170 year old….I thought someone was posting pics of my mother in law

[RobesonsRme.com]

That’s a beautiful knife.

Interesting that such a thing has left the fayig the man to whom it was presented.

SometyI never understand.

[Madmarco]

When I saw 170 year old….I thought someone was posting pics of my mother in law

! I keep telling you, you should be onstage!

[FRJ]

What a beautiful spring, Dennis.