Age of this G. Butler & Co. Pocket Knife

[LudwigB]

I found this beautiful G. Butler & Co. knife in my late grandmother's sewing kit. It is just above 3 inches long. The two blades measure 1,65" and 1,38" in length. The nail file is 2" long. The handles are made from Mother of Pearl. I don't see any damages on them.

"G. Butler & Co." and "Sheffield England" are stamped on the tang.

I've read that ENGLAND would date this knife after 1890. However I also read that they adopted the ART stamp (which this one is missing) in 1861. This left me confused.

When was this knife manufactued?
Who would've owned it? A lady from the upper class?
Is there a market for such a knife today?

This is my first post on here. Thank you for your answers!

Ludwig

[cudgee]

Welcome, and good first post.

[kootenay joe]

Ludwig this type of knife construction is called a "Lobster" knife. The springs run along the center line of the knife allowing for blades to be on upper & lower 'decks'. They come in a variety of shapes and number of blades. Pearl or metal handles are common but they are also seen with ivory or stag.
These were very popular from late 1800's up until about WW II.
I don't know who carried them. Most show signs of use so they did get carried. I think businessmen, those who worked in an office, carried them and perhaps women did also in their purse.
At present not many knife collectors are interested in them so despite many being quite vintage and very well made, they rarely sell for over $50. $20-$30 is the usual range.
kj

[ea42]

Welcome Ludwig! The George Butler Co was around for a very long time; 1768-1952. The key stamp was adopted in 1867 from Steer and Webster after they purchased that company. That's a really nice example. Funny that you would find it in a sewing kit as those old lobsters were quite popular with the ladies in those days for just that purpose. You had nice small blades for cutting threads, etc as well as the manicure and file blades. Another popular sewing kit knife was the small switchblades since they didn't cause any broken nails when opening the blade. Roland's right about the general value of the pearl knives (unless they're absolutely mint) but I would think you could get closer to $50 in that condition although I think it's really nice to have a keepsake like that from your grandmother. It's a really beautiful knife.

Eric