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manah

Abraham Leon, Sheffield.

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by , 12-16-2012 at 08:19 PM (2630 Views)
Quote Originally Posted by manah View Post
Abraham Leon was a merchant and cutlery manufacturer in Solly Street, where he had been based since at least 1849. He had been born in about 1819 in Mecklenburg, Germany, and probably came to Sheffield with his parents, Abraham and Eve Leon. The later were living in Lambert Street. By 1861, Abraham Leon in Solly Street had married Henrietta (from Hanover) and both became naturalised. Leon made rapid progress. With the income from selling table cutlery, razors, spring knives and Bowies, he soon had a house in Endcliffe Vale. Leon Bowie knives appear to be rare. The blade carries the words "Washingtonian" and "A Friend in Need is a Friend Indeed". It's stamped with the letters: "O*K".
By 1881, Leon had retired to Lime Lodge, Wells Road, in Bath. The business was listed in Solly Street until the mid-1890s, but it had switched to steel and files. Abraham Leon died in Bath on 23 June 1897, aged 79.
Leon exhibited at the Great Exhibition of 1851. According to the Official and Illustrated Descriptive Catalogue (1851), his exhibit included:
Hirlau, regularjoe and Fikira like this.

Comments

  1. Storsven's Avatar
    I wonder how many 20 inch hunter knives our friend Mr. Leon sold.

    That is one heck of a big knife! Two and half times longer than my 8 inch chef's knife which is pretty darn big on it's own.

    The only 20 inch blades I managed to find online were some old conquistador boarding cutlass-like blades, and hundred year old Filipino combat daggers.