November 3-4, 2017 Firearms & Militaria
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 11/3/2017
Circa 1841-1847. 8-1/2” clip point blade with sharpened false edge, stamped on ricasso "WOODHEAD & HARTLEY/7 LAMBERT STREET/SHEFFIELD" and near the spine "AMERICAN HUNTING KNIFE", also faintly etched on the face of the blade "AMERICANS NEVER SURRENDER". Coffin-shaped handle of frame construction with mother of pearl scales inlaid with a crest-style escutcheon on the obverse. The boat shaped guard and full alligator pommel are both of nickel silver. The morocco leather sheath is accented with nickel silver fittings and gold embossing. The blade is in good to very good condition with scattered light pitting and a few sharpening scratches, the etch is faded and difficult to read. The handle is in excellent condition with no cracks or chips to the scales and only light wear to the fittings; the sheath is in very good condition. Ex. Mike Worley collection. This classic Bowie knife style by George Woodhead (here in his early partnership with Hartley) is one of the most distinctive in all of Bowie knife collecting. The full alligator pommels are somewhat rarer than the horse alligator motif, and for that reason are considered even more desirable by collectors. The fine pearl handles really set this knife apart. Tweedale, Geoffrey. "Tweedale’s Directory of Sheffield Cutlery Manufacturers, 1740-2013", Second Edition. Published by the author, 2017. p.682. (info on Woodhead & Hartley)