29th Jun, 2023 12:00
The David Hayden-Wright Collection of Antique Knives
770
A BOWIE KNIFE, THORNHILL, LONDON, LATE 19TH CENTURY
with broad blade formed with a clipped-back point, struck ‘Ellis Knife’ on one face, rectangular ricasso struck with the maker’s details, the royal letters ‘VR’ divided by a crown on one face and with a diamond-shaped registration mark on the other, shaped burnished steel guard with an aperture engaging a retaining catch on the scabbard on one side, chequered grips retained by six rivets, concealed tweezers with lancet and pricker, in its leather scabbard with belt loop, 19.5 cm blade
Literature
David Hayden-Wright, The Heritage of English Knives, Atglen, Pennsylvania, 2008, p. 272.
Thornhill & Co. are recorded 1820-1912. This well-known firm exhibited at the Great Exhibition of 1851, the Paris Exhibition in 1878, and the Sportsman’s Exhibition in Islington in 1882. For a full history see Culme 1987, pp. 448-9.
Part proceeds to benefit the Acquisition Fund of the Arms and Armor department, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Sold for £600
with broad blade formed with a clipped-back point, struck ‘Ellis Knife’ on one face, rectangular ricasso struck with the maker’s details, the royal letters ‘VR’ divided by a crown on one face and with a diamond-shaped registration mark on the other, shaped burnished steel guard with an aperture engaging a retaining catch on the scabbard on one side, chequered grips retained by six rivets, concealed tweezers with lancet and pricker, in its leather scabbard with belt loop, 19.5 cm blade
Literature
David Hayden-Wright, The Heritage of English Knives, Atglen, Pennsylvania, 2008, p. 272.
Thornhill & Co. are recorded 1820-1912. This well-known firm exhibited at the Great Exhibition of 1851, the Paris Exhibition in 1878, and the Sportsman’s Exhibition in Islington in 1882. For a full history see Culme 1987, pp. 448-9.
Part proceeds to benefit the Acquisition Fund of the Arms and Armor department, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
Auction: The David Hayden-Wright Collection of Antique Knives, 29th Jun, 2023
