Old Letter Opener with Pen Knife

[Daryl]

Hello,

This question may not be relevant to this group, but I'm not sure where else to turn.

I inherited this letter opener/pen knife combination from my grandfather, who brought it back to the US from Germany after WW I.

I'd always assumed it was German, but as I started to clean it up I realized that the images on the handle look Swiss instead. There's the name "Tell" below an image of a man and child -- William Tell? There are also a couple of Swiss-style crosses on the handle. I haven't tried to track down any of the other imagery yet.

I've done a little searching on the Internet to find something similar and I haven't come across anything like it yet.

And, yes, the blades need some clean-up. I live near the ocean, and the salt air got to it before I realized what was happening.

Can anyone here shed any light on it, like who made it, and when, and where?

THANKS!!!


UPDATE: "Helvetiorum fedei ac virtuti," according to Wikipedia, translates as "To the loyalty and bravery of the Swiss," and is a reference to the Lion Monument, which goes right along with the lion image on this letter opener. So, I'm pretty sure now that it is Swiss.

[peanut740]

Don't have an answer for you,but wanted to welcome you on your 1st post after 6+ years of being a member!

[deo-pa]

Daryl you have a letter opener with what are called coined aluminum handles. The theme may be Swiss but the opener was probably made in Solingen Germany, which was the source of most of these. I don't see a tang stamp on the knife blade, which is surprising as most all I've seen are marked. Many were made by P. Daniel Peres, a very early Solingen cutlery company. You also see many marked E. Faber. Most are also marked Germany.

They date from the late 19th Century to well into the 20th. They were made as advertising and souvenir knives and there are probably hundreds of subjects celebrating companies, cities, architecture, famous people, and on and on.

Well-known knife expert Bernard Levine had an article about coined handled knives in the October 2015 issue of Knife World. He states, "Pocketknives with coined aluminum handles were important products of the Solingen cutlery industry from the late 1880s -- when commercial production of aluminum began -- into the 1920s."

Use the AAPK site search function for numerous posts with suggested ways to clean your piece.

Dennis

[1fartsmella]

The Lion Of Lucerne Monument. The blade appears to be unmarked = maker unknown?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lion_Monument

[knife7knut]

As deo-pa said many of these were made by Daniel Peres. I have two pocket knives:one is made by Joseph Feist and the other is unmarked. They are a bit smaller than yours(background is 1 inch squares)but have the same logo.The letter opener knives while not as common as pocket knives don't seem to generate as much interest to collectors(which is probably why I have so many of them).

[Daryl]

Don't have an answer for you,but wanted to welcome you on your 1st post after 6+ years of being a member!

Thanks! Just reading and learning here, mostly.

[Daryl]

Daryl you have a letter opener with what are called coined aluminum handles. The theme may be Swiss but the opener was probably made in Solingen Germany, which was the source of most of these. I don't see a tang stamp on the knife blade, which is surprising as most all I've seen are marked. Many were made by P. Daniel Peres, a very early Solingen cutlery company. You also see many marked E. Faber. Most are also marked Germany.

They date from the late 19th Century to well into the 20th. They were made as advertising and souvenir knives and there are probably hundreds of subjects celebrating companies, cities, architecture, famous people, and on and on.

Well-known knife expert Bernard Levine had an article about coined handled knives in the October 2015 issue of Knife World. He states, "Pocketknives with coined aluminum handles were important products of the Solingen cutlery industry from the late 1880s -- when commercial production of aluminum began -- into the 1920s."

Use the AAPK site search function for numerous posts with suggested ways to clean your piece.

Dennis

Thank you, Dennis! This is great information!

I've been over the whole thing with a jeweler's loupe, and have found no maker's marks.

[Daryl]

As deo-pa said many of these were made by Daniel Peres. I have two pocket knives:one is made by Joseph Feist and the other is unmarked. They are a bit smaller than yours(background is 1 inch squares)but have the same logo.The letter opener knives while not as common as pocket knives don't seem to generate as much interest to collectors(which is probably why I have so many of them).

Oooh! Cool! Yes, this looks very right. Thank you!