Thread: W. Howcroft and Sons razor of Moss and Gambles Celebrated Steel

Its a job to say, Tom. Like you said, Moss & Gamble Bros appear to be still trading. At any event, this pic showing the back of their works was taken in 1905 so they were still going then!



I found another Hawcroft razor on the net, this one has W Hawcroft and Sons Renown on one side and Concaved by F Koeller, Boston on the other:



Of course, that doesn't tell us much other than F Koeller, son of a Prussian immigrant and cited as a cutlery dealer age 43 in Bostom, Mass. along with his son Arther F. Koeller, 17 in the 1900 census. Arthur was in business - still trading as F Koeller & Son, from 99 Albatross Road, Boston, Mass and called a 'Razor Honer - Own Shop' in the 1920 census.

left: from 1922 left: from 1934

So F Koeller concaved that Hawcroft razor sometime before 1900 and probably sometime after 1880 or thereabouts, when he would have been 20. Which, as I say, does not give us the age of the razor, just a pleasant diversion!

Regards,
Neil

Originally Posted by Neil Miller

William Hawcroft was the son of Isaac Hawcroft and Sarah Revitt, hence the Revitt connection.

...
From the above it is clear that the business (the Isaac and William traded under the same mark) lasted longer than thought - certainly past 1901 when Tweedale says that William J had retired - clearly, according to the census return, he had not.

Excellent work Neil! (The only kind I expect from you though, really)

That does indeed explain why Wm. Hawcroft apprenticed to a Revitt.

I'll be amending my bio with both that and the longer date of operation. It also just needs some minor reorganization for clarity, funny how the best proofreading is done only when I imagine other people reading it...