June 12-13, 2019 Edged Weapon, Armor, & Militaria
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 6/12/2019
Boldly etched across the lower bevel of the clip point blade "Death to Abolition", this famous I*XL bowie is stamped on its ricasso W (crown) R GEORGE WOSTENHOLM & SON'S CELEBRATED CAST STEEL BOWIE KNIFE, with WARRANTED OF THE BEST QUALITY stamped out on the blade's face. The checkered ebony handle is trimmed with a nickel silver shell pommel, floral decorated ferrule and a ball end guard. Original Moroccan leather sheath with nickel silver tip and throat. This knife has long been associated with a rare anti-slavery publication called "The Slave's Friend" (No.26), published in about 1837 and showing a similar knife with a different pommel style, commenting "How wicked to make such knives! How wicked to sell them!! How wicked to use them!!" This exact knife is pictured in The Antique Bowie Knife Book by Adams, Voyles, & Moss (pp.412-413) and in many other publications, including but not limited to Classic Bowie Knives by Abels (p.70), Bowie Knives by Abels (red cover, p.29), The Robert Abels Collection of Bowie Type Knives of American Interest (p.3), Bowie Knives, From the Collections of Robert Abels and the Ohio Historical Society by Keener (knife #22), American Knives by Petersen (p.42) and Confederate Edged Weapons by Albaugh (p.177). The red #14 on the reverse ricasso was likely put there by Robert Abels himself, in the 1940s or 1950s. CONDITION: Blade with light sharpening, scattered spotting and a few pits towards tip, cracks in handle have been filled. Some areas of damage to sheath, frog stud is loose.