A georgeus couple

Absolutely stunning pair!

I don't have time right now to hit the books and try to learn anything about the maker, but in my opinion they're probably from 1810-1820.

What kind of papers were they kept with? I'd assume anything with a filled gold watch and those razors would be important to whoever hid them.

Neil will almost certainly turn up a volume of information on them, but I think he's currently away. At least his website currently says he'll be away from email until the 15th.

When I get some free time I'll see what I can come up with.

Yeah, they look very similar to other razors I have from the early 1800s (say 1810-1820 decade).
Don't look in need of cleaning either - probably just honing and if there are no chips it should be quick and easy. Hopefully they shave well, they already have the looks and are really well preserved.

I can Show you the documents, and you must know we are galician people and our important papers are not to exciting, If I remember well were a pair of love letters, an(cedula personal) identity card and a will card provably belonging to his father (178-) nothing to much interesting for us but sure quite for the razors´s owner a sailor in the begining of the new century, a bite of history, isn´t it?.
regard and good night

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Originally Posted by Robertoreigosmendez

I can Show you the documents, and you must know we are galician people and our important papers are not to exciting, If I remember well were a pair of love letters, an(cedula personal) identity card and a will card provably belonging to his father (178-) nothing to much interesting for us but sure quite for the razors´s owner a sailor in the begining of the new century, a bite of history, isn´t it?.
regard and good night

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To me, those things sound very interesting. I always wonder about the life of the people that owned the razors before I did, but it's almost never something I can learn much about, if anything at all. I'd love to see the papers (though I probably won't be able to read them).

Well I´m trying to show you part of the rests I dont sell, because the watch bring me many months of quiet economy but another things I prefer to reserv them. First the desk, actully my wiife use it and is full of moder itens but you can easily see two parts in the botton, one with a drawer and other with tree parts separated, originaly they are covered with a hidden door, I remove it to use this part, into the howl I find several things The clock I sold, another part of an sun clock quite usual into sailors, you can see it, in the photos I include, a few lot of medical instruments, I only habe now an scalpel an a syringe in ists own box, an travel horn inkwell and a little lot of documents, the most of them related of the family Alonso, famous traders in this place, an the Cuadrados y Luaces, dynasties quite richs and provabli origin of the Alonsos, the love letter I think I detryed them, I dont like read personal material, but I reserve an suicide letter you can see into the photos, I couldn´t resist it , The will is the older 17th century and this letter is the newerest dated in 1874, Well I´m going to try to translate it because is quite interesting I think

Madrid april 17th 1874

Debts that somebody debyt me not to know my brother

Mr. Antonio Peñas 42 reales
The boy in the corner wich carry money taken sometimes 30 reles
Carballo debt ( sure well know Jose) 88 reales
Macareno (well known by Jose) 96 reales
One a learner called Leal 40 reales
The Domingo´s brother the man witch boiled in the new factory 12 empty sacks

The rest I think my brother Jose know the quantity

I don´t debt nothing to anybody unless known by my brother Jose

In this moment I picked the gun in my hand to shoot myself but I habe no heart to suicide me an I´ll cross the world to pay my debts, mainly to my uncles Antonio Cuadrado ando Margarita Souto and in this letter I pray at my nephew , Pascual, tell my parents I´ll live slave and I´ll figth to pay all I debt as far as I´ll can with the God help, and I´ll write them when I´ll can, Now I´m going to take 2000 reales to beguin. I can not write more because my heart is full of sadness, and...by...Provably we´ll never see again, for the lord´s love...sorry, an belive me witch they had an uncle alive at the moment, and if I dead before pay my debts...sorry for lord´s love.

AT THE LEFT SIDE

I´m the unfortunely Pascual Lopez Villarino Please not to tell it to my parent, they could dead by sadnes

Well my englis is no better, if you want to know anything else about the phostos, ask

regards

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Such a beautiful pair of razors - and an interesting desk too!

The maker is not Thomas Osborn. Although he was a cutler - a 'sword cutler' - he was not in partnership with John Gunby. Thomas was born in Aston, Birmingham, 1816 and was in partnership with wife Susannah as sword and gun makers c1839. He moved to Bordesley and then to Yorkshire - Brightside Bierlowe. He was last recorded in the census of 1851 (entries for 1841 and 1861 are erroneous) as an agent fot the 'Farnley Iron Company', and he died after suffering a tumour in the head for 14 years in November 1870.

His parents were Henry and Hannah Osborn. Henry was born in 1756 and began manufacturing swords, light cutlasses and sabres around 1785 in Aston, Birmingham. He entered a partnership with John Gunby in 1805, which became Osborn, Gunby & Company in 1808 before being dissolved in 1820. Wright's trade directory for 1818 lists Osborn, Gunby & Co as 'Manufacturer and Accoutrement Maker to His Majesty the Prince Regent and the East India Company, and of course they had various contracts with the Board of Ordinance for swords, bayonets, etc as was posted earlier - the trade card or advertisement. He occupied the famous Greet Mill which dates back to 1275! It was still a corn mill in 173 but was adapted and altered and let to Henry and Hannah around 1798, when it was known as Bordesley Mill.

That gives two possible date periods for the razors. The absence of Gunby's name does not necessarily mean they were made prior to the formation of the partnership of 1805, as it used Osborn's trade name until 1808 according to one historian. So, they are either pre-1808 or post 1820, up to the date of his death in 1827. That kind of rules out the 'proper' regency period (George !V, prince regent from 1811 to 1820) but they do look like that period rather than earlier.

Regards,
Neil

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Originally Posted by Robertoreigosmendez

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I don't know how correct i am, but i am the owner of 2 hookahs(Shisha pipes) and was at one point obsessed with them,
The top picture looks like some sort of setup for a shisha, i can plainly identify what is the bowl, a typical Egyptian styled bowl. If it isn't part of a hookah it could be a similar sort of smoking device, or perhaps I'm completely mistaken? If it is though, judging by the bowl, it would be from Egypt, which everything all the more interesting.

Brilliant, you're a master Neil, and an dictionary, but for me with my shor capavility to undertand english sentences, the final is no too clear, wath do you want to say, Regency period?, thanks and regard:dropjaw: