The Collections of the Worshipful Company of Cutlers: Part One: London-Made Knives and Their Marks (Paperback)

Synopsis

For many years we, at Cutlers' Hall, have been aware that our extensive collections of cutlery and of medals and badges have been little known to the public. It is with great pleasure, therefore, that I welcome the publication of the first part of a catalogue of these possessions. The collection of cutlery in the pocession of the Company of Cutlers of London at Cutlers' Hall ranges from stone age tools to the cutlery of today, from the cheapest of mass produced knives to exquisite items of gold and ivory encrusted with jewels. It is particularly rich in fine continental cutlery of the 17th and 18th centuries. The company's collection of London-made cutlery is modest but it seems most appropriate to begin publication with these. It also enables the problem of 'what is London-made' to be addressed, how such items may be identified and to present the results of recent research into the Company archives and those of the freedom and apprenticeship rolls of the City of London. The Company's aim is to bring its collections into the public domain with as little delay as possible. Therefore no extensive research into other collections of London-made knives has been undertaken.

Indeed, such is the problem of markings and the ever developing sophistication of the techniques required for their interpretation that this will require a huge expenditure of time even for the Company's collection.