Pocket fruit knife by Thomas Marples of Sheffield, 1875

Description

Thomas Marples was born in Sheffield in 1832. He operated from 41 Arundel Street, Sheffield and became a specialist folding fruit knife maker. With a small team he produced fine examples for around fifty years. His knives are keenly collected. This violin shaped example is 3 inches closed and is made with fine brass liners, fabulously carved iridescent mother-of-pearl scales featuring piqué-clouté silver wire work, pinched silver bolsters, an engraved inlaid silver cartouche with the initials “RM” and a tooled silver back bar sleeve. The solid silver spearpoint blade has five hallmarks: the Sheffield crown, lion passant, date letter ‘’H” for 1877, the Queen Victoria head duty mark and the Maker’s mark ‘TM’. This beautiful silver fruit knife is in excellent condition even though the blade does not quite fully close.