Thread: Crookes & Straights

Gentlemen I implore you to join this exclusive razor fan club. We are the proud and the few who own a Crookes razor. Welcome.. Welcome..

I will try to update this with all the info and pictures I can find about this fine producer of razors, pocket knifes and pen knifes.

JONATHAN CROOKES
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This is the only record I can find between 1700 and 1900 of a Jonathan Crookes burial. It makes me question the listing in Gales & Martin in 1787 stating
that Jonathan Crookes, Cutler, was located in Scotland Street in Sheffield. I don't doubt that there was a Jonathan Crookes at that adress that year, but
I think it's possible that this is a relative of the Jonathan Crookes that we know today as a pen & pocketknife manufacturer & razor manufacturer. Due to
the lack of information, I will assume that the Jonathan Crookes found in the Sheffield Records Online, born in 1787 is the razor maker this very fan club
is honoring. I will use all the information I have found to try to back this assumption and unless we can find some other written proof of his existance in
a earlier time I will stick to this theory. Please feel free to add whatever information you may have. I hope to make this the definitive online guide to
Jonathan Crookes - Fine Pen Knife Manufacturer & Razor Manufacturer.

Here is the info I have found so far :

Born:1787 Burial:1 Dec 1866 Forename:Jonathan Surname:Crookes Description:Gentleman Age:79

Official listings:

Jonathan CROOKES - Cutler, Scotland Street- Source:Gales & Martin 1787
Jonathan CROOKES - Razor manufacturer, Little Sheffield- Source:Baine's 1822
Jonathan CROOKES - Pen and Pocket Knife Manufacturers, Rockingham Lane- Source:Pigot's 1828-9
Jonathan CROOKES - Razor Manufacturers, Rockingham Lane- Source:Pigot's 1828-9
Jonathan CROOKES - Pen knife manufacturer, 22 Bailey Lane- Source:White's 1833
Jonathan CROOKES (& Son) - Pen & pocket knife manufacturer, Eldon Street- Source:Pigot's 1841
Jonathan CROOKES (& Son) - Fine pen & pocket knife & razor manufacturers, 89 Eldon Street; h. Broomhall Road- Source:White's 1849
Jonathan CROOKES (& Son) - Spring knife manufacturers, 89 Eldon Street- Source:Kelly's 1893
Jonathan CROOKES (& Son) - Cutlery manufacturers, 245 Rockingham Street- Source:White's 1919
Jonathan CROOKES (& Son) - Cutlery manufacturers, 245 Rockingham Street- Source:Kelly's 1925

These are the listings that started to make me doubt that the man in the 1787 listing is the Crookes in question. When I later found this I felt
even more certain.. This is a listing of all Cutlers apprentices with the name Jonathan Crookes on record from 1684-1810:



From this it would be easy to draw the conclusion that the 6th Crookes from the top must be the right person. His father is also named Jonathan
Crookes and the son is a Cutlers Apprentice training to be a knife maker. So far, so good. The only problem I have here is that he would have
been 4 years old at this time. What I did here was to scratch my head and try to look for other solutions. So I looked closer at the son of
Marmaduke Crookes. A cutlers apprentice in 1810 (It does not state if he graduated at that time or that he begun as an apprentice so we will
assume he has graduated after a uncertain number of years as an apprentice. This means he is 23 years old in 1810 and looking for work. Let's say
he works as a cutler until 1822 when he starts up on his own. Maybe he started up on his own earlier and this is just the first official listing,
but until we can find any more information we have to go by the year 1822. Baine's lists a Jonathan Crookes - Razor manufacturer, in Little Sheffield
in 1822. According to Sheffield Records online he married a Ann Drake the 30th of December 1808. Let's say they had kids within a couple of years.
Perhaps in 1810. To back this up there is this census listing from 1841 :

Name:Thomas CROOKES age:35 adr:Rockingham Lane 1333/11 23 47b Ecclesall Bierlow

Thomas Crookes is listed as part owner of Brookes & Crookes and Jonathan Crookes & son is listed with an adress at Rockingham Lane until at least 1925.
(as this SRP razor database picture shows: )


The first listing of Jonathan Crookes & Son is in 1841 which would mean his son would be about 31 years old. This makes sense to me as there is no
listings between 1833 and 1841. The Jonathan Crookes & Son might have been established any time within this period.

All the different adresses listed are probably just different manufacturers for Jonathan Crookes. It seems like he was more of a Knife, Pen Knife & Pocket
knife manufacturer than a razor manufacturer but this picture here shows that he did indeed have a shop in Eldon street:



So this means that we can establish that most if not all of the listings of the different shops above are correct. There were many Crookes in Sheffield
and it's not easy to know wether these were all related or not but they all seem to have the same forenames. John, Jonathan and Samuel.. etc.
and they are all cutlers or knife makers or bone / scale cutters. So I guess I'm on the right track.

This is what I've got so far, and it's all just stuff I have dug up on the internet and a lot off it is just guessing and assuming. If anyone out there has any more
info please correct me. It took me some time to get this far so I'm going to leave it here.. I'll add more later when I can put together more info.

Now for some pictures

This is a Jonathan Crookes. Stamped "Sheffield England". So it suggests it is post 1881 and this could show that he
most likely didn't use "Jonathan Crookes & Son" on his razors.



Next I have a Brookes & Crookes.. also stamped "Sheffield England".

Another Brookes & Crookes - Sheffield England

And this.. Recently bought, not yet received. (I will post better pictures later). A Jonathan Crookes. Only stamped with name and heart and
pistol logo. This makes me think it might be a very early Crookes razor. Almost certainly pre 1881.. Possibly made somewhere between 1822
and 1858. He is listed for the first time in 1822 as a razor manufacturer and if we compare the stamp to the wade & butcher stamps they
stamped sheffield on their razors pre 1881.. Who knows when they only stamped their brand name and not sheffield? Just me guessing but
I would think pre 1850.. (Jonathan Crookes and Son became Brookes & Crookes in 1858 so I would think this razor was manufactured before
that time)Hopefully someone else can correct me or confirm my guess.. Anyway. Here is the temporary pictures :

I think there's a big chance there is not going to be many members in this club, but hopefully there is someone else out there with a
Jonathan Crookes or a Brookes & Crookes razor.. Or any kind of Crookes razor for that matter.. Or if anyone has any pictures or info to add.
There is close to no info out there on Jonathan Crookes so we need all the help we can get..

This one says
G. Crookes & Co
Sheffield

She's going to our very own JimR shortly

Cool! Thanks. According to Sheffield Records Online it could be George Crookes.. Son of James Crookes. He was a cutler apprentice in 1787. Studying to be a razor maker.
It's very early though. Maybe the company lived on in his name. In the Sheffield Directory of 1852 there is a "Crookes George & Co. merchants and tableknife &
cutlery manufacturers, 95 Norfolk street ; house: East view" It could be him.

Would be great if you could post a close-up of the stamp.

Dennis, if you want more Crookes ...please.
George Crookes:
G.Crookes & Co., 1836 - 1856;
Crookes & Co., 1856 - 1867.

Septimus Crookes, 1860 - Agent for Rodgers & Sons.

Crookes Brothers - 1825 - 1850.

Hale Brothers, Moorfield Works also used trademark H.Crookes & Co.

And Crookes, Roberts & Co.

Thank you very much Manah.. That is very helpful. I saw you posted a picture of a Brookes & Crookes razor in the database last year too. Do you still have it?

It's this one :

Yes. The razor is still with me. I bought it in Portobello, London.