Thread: I'll never shave with it, but...

I pretty regularly dip into the digital copy of volume 2 that's available through Google Books. Being able to do text searches on the body of the text is enormously useful. Leader's book certainly has its problems, but on numerous occasions the list of apprentices has provided me with information I can't find elsewhere. Since volume 1 isn't available, I'd long pondered getting a physical copy of the book. Last week, I decided the time had come and I ordered the nicest edition I could find.











What's not apparent from these pictures is how BIG the book is. Ever held a compact Oxford English Dictionary? It's larger than that. 17"x12". It weighs 11 pounds.

Astonishingly, this edition was only $10 more than the regular cloth-bound ones.

What I wasn't expecting though, was this:



(which reads: "From the library of the late George Hall, esq, JP(?), (Master Cutler 1904-5), Thorpe House, Norton Lee, Sheffield. -June 1932"

George Hall was, indeed, Master Cutler of the guild in 1905 when Leader finished the history. This edition, therefore, belonged to the Master Cutler in the year the book was completed.

Originally I'd been thinking that I'd just keep an eye out for an edition of volume 2 in the same binding. Now, I'm not so sure I'll ever find it. There may well only be a few copies bound like this.

Unless, of course, the Company of Cutlers had a few hundred printed for all future Master Cutlers.

Way cool, Zak! Congrats and Kudos!

Gorgeous - must have been quite the investment.

Yes - the binding is incredible...that may be a difficult find...

FYI - did a quick search and found a two volume set:

History of the Sheffield Cutlers Company by R.E. Leader - 2 Volume Book Set

Is this the same book(s) you purchased?

Originally Posted by Phrank

Gorgeous - must have been quite the investment.

Yes - the binding is incredible...that may be a difficult find...

FYI - did a quick search and found a two volume set:

History of the Sheffield Cutlers Company by R.E. Leader - 2 Volume Book Set

Is this the same book(s) you purchased?

Holy cow. Yeah, that's both volumes of the same book I got, though it seems to be a second or third printing and someone added an extra zero to the price! Also they've got a very interesting concept of "mint condition" based on the pictures!

I found my copy through Abe Books.

Never mind the historical contents of this book for a second, but the binding and condition looks admirable. Always found it interesting that many English historical books and emblems are often followed with a french quote. Like this one " Pour y parvenir a bonne foi" translate to english " To acheive in good faith".

That said Zak, im hoping this book will untangle some history for you and all of us, like yourself, i browse the online edition many times and its ability to do a word or name search is a great feature.

Perhaps in your spare time you will scan this one for us........... Enjoy! its a very nice find! keep the lather away from it.

Martin, somewhere in the back of my head is the answer to why the French mottoes on English works, and I cannot for the life of me fish it out.

I've browsed it a little bit, and it's got a great deal of administrative minutia going back to the 1600's.

My plan, since before it arrived, was to make a high quality, searchable scan from it. I'm pretty sure the book is public domain now, but I'll be double checking, and if it is, I'll make it available to everyone. I'm also going to try to get in touch with the Cutler's Company and see if they know how many copies there are in this binding. If there are very many, I plan to have it professionally restored nod make sure my will send it to either the Cutlers Company or an appropriate museum when I'm done with it.

I'm still trying to get in touch with folks at the Company, but the time difference makes calling very awkward.

What I've turned up so far is the following:

Numerous other copies belonged to Master Cutlers, and they seem to have been the regular green-clothbound editions. George Hall died before Volume II was published.

So there's a very good chance that there are no other copies with this binding in existence (or only a very, very few).

I'm trying to get in touch with the Company's archivist now, and I'll see what I do from there, but it's looking an awful lot like I'll be donating this to a museum collection of some kind (after I make a searchable PDF file -- very gently).