Thread: Travel razor by R. Wass, 1807 - attributed to George Damer

I happened upon this one that was mis-listed as sold, so it stayed available until I was able to buy it. It turned out to be a lot more interesting than what I thought. At first I thought it was just another nice R. Wade travel razor, but once I got it I realized it was actually R. Wass. I had never heard of that name but looked around, and sure enough there was a Robert Wass from Sheffield who received a patent in 1809 for improvements to hafting, though said improvements are not detailed:



The blade itself is etched with a scene of marching soldiers, and inscribed on the front "To the Right and Hon[ora]ble Lord Milton, 1807". So this dates it precisely and fits in perfectly with the date range of the patent. Further, Lord Milton could be George Damer, who was Viscount Milton in the late 18th century, and from a time the Chief Secretary for Ireland. He had military connections as well, colonel of the Dorset Militia 1798-99, and colonel of the Dorsetshire Yeomanry Cavalry 1803-1808, which could be related to the blade etching.

George Damer:



Further support comes from a 1779 book on the nobility, citing George's father Joseph as Lord Milton. Joseph was dead by 1798 so this razor would be definitively made for George, who inherited the title. As a sidenote, apparently during our revolutionary way, Joseph had taken up "violent animosity to the Americans".



Also of note is that the reverse of the blade has the etching "Ground on a 4 inch stone. RW". While I have seen a few of these 4-inch stone etchings, I have not seen one with the maker's name present in the etching itself.











Here is the blade form in Smith's Key (1816):