April 27-30, 2021 Extraordinary Firearms & Militaria
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 4/28/2021
Circa 1847-1923. Large and heavy 13” blade, 1/4” thick at the junction of handle and blade, with unsharpened clip point blade marked only "J. SANGER" on its face. Offset handle of birdshead form, rosewood scales attached with three brass pins. The blade with scattered spotting, light pitting, and 1 small nick, but little sign of use; the handles with surface scratches, a hairline crack, and a large piece missing from the butt end on the reverse. A simply made knife that presents more questions than answers. It was manufactured by butcher and industrial knife manufacturer H.A. Lothrop and Co. of Sharon, Mass., for whom J. Sanger was an agent. Knives with a different “J. Sanger” marking were recovered from the steamboat Bertrand, which sank on the upper Missouri River on its way to the Montana Territory in 1865. This knife is similar to “lamb splitters” and similar large knives used in the butchering trade, but the attractive clip point certainly adds to its appeal. It was featured in “The Cutleries of Sharon” by Mark Zalesky, Knife World (January 1997). MZ