John Yeomans Cowlishaw pocket fruit knife with most unusual shape, 1903

Description

It was accepted in Victorian times that Cowlishaw knives never needed advertising, the knives themselves were said to be their own advertisement. Indeed only one Cowlishaw advertisement has ever been traced.

The Cowlishaw story is quite tragic. Having established himself with an enviable reputation for making exquisite silver fruit knives, John Yeomans Cowlishaw became depressed when his wife died in 1895 and he committed suicide soon afterwards. His son took over the business and continued trading until after the First World War after which time production numbers were greatly reduced.

This example of the Cowlishaw brand is most unusual not only for its body shape, but also for the blade shape — a sabre tip. The knife measures 3 inches in the closed position. It is built on brass liners with iridescent rounded mother-of-pearl scales pinned in three places with white metal rivets. The face scale has an inlaid cartouche.

The blade is ornately engraved with a deep bright-cut border with swags underneath. It has four hallmarks showing the Sheffield Assay mark, the Lion Passant, the John Yeomans Cowlishaw (JYC) maker’s mark, the year stamp (i) for 1903. Although the blade does not fully close this really rare knife is in excellent condition.