Thread: 1780s baeuty

Very nice!

Looks...familiar...



These old razors...they just have a "je ne sais quoi" about them don't they?

OP: your razor was made by either Elizabeth Rowland, 'Widow Rowland' of Back Lane, Sheffield in the 1787 Sheffield Directory, or her husband. It seems that her husband had died, and that she had inherited his makers mark (if her husband was a cutler, that is. In other adverts of the late 1700s (post 1787) she styles herself as 'Widow Rowland & Sons'.

However, the 1774 Sheffield Advertiser lists her as 'Rowland, Elizabeth, Razor Maker. It also mentions another, Ann Rowland, as a Razor Maker. It is not made by Ann Rowland of Westbar Green, Sheffield - her mark is entirely different.

The two Rowlands are possibly related somehow, perhaps mother and daughter. We know that Elizabeth is recorded as a cutler (in both the Sheffield and Gale & Martin Directories) and also a widow, but was her husband the original cutler?

There is a record of Robert Rowland and Elizabeth Ellingworth marrying in 1755 and giving birth to a daughter called Ann in 1765, but I do not have any concrete evidence of this.

The fact of the matter is that if her husband was already a cutler and his mark passed to his wife on his death, we can not be sure who the maker was, nor can we assign a specific decade to it. If Elizabeth Rowland's sons carried on in the same profession and used that mark, its time window could be from 50 to 100 years or more.

It looks 1770s - 90s to me, but that is only my opinion, not a fact.

Regards,
Neil

Originally Posted by silverloaf

havnt seen you guys in awhile! hello everyone! well, formality and pleasantries dispensed with, heres the old beauty:
scienceguy was kind enough to dig up info on this gem. i had to have it when i saw it but i knew nothing of the maker and it would have driven me crazy not knowing so many thanks to you!
1780s Rowland........

Good condition razor despite his age. I very rarely see such.

This is amazing that this blade is still in such a good condition after all this years. Congratulations.

Maciek.

Great history, are you going to restore it or preserve it as it is.

Originally Posted by apipeguy

Great history, are you going to restore it or preserve it as it is.

out of my hands rather quickly..... no restoration from me, ill be happy to see it posted again in the future if the new owner decides to

Wow, that is nice. What is that blade shape called?

Originally Posted by JP5

Wow, that is nice. What is that blade shape called?

A razor.



Sorry, couldn't resist. I'd call it a near wedge stubtail with a continuous tang.