Thread: 1830's Edward Allison with fancy bone scales.

I have a crown VR 7 day set dated 1911....didnt think victoria was that late either.

I have a razor I have been trying to identify and after seeing your two Edward Allison razors I am confident that I have one as well. While it is not stamped Allison the jibs and bone scales and shape of the blade are all the same. Also, what seals it for me are the washers on your second Allison are the same ones on my razor. But would the lack of the Crown seal on mine mean pre-1830 or possibly made for export?

Originally Posted by DennisBarberShop

I have a crown VR 7 day set dated 1911....didnt think victoria was that late either.

Oh, she definitely wasn't. She died January 22nd, 1901.

I assume the date is from a dedication on the box?

Originally Posted by Tripoli3

I have a razor I have been trying to identify and after seeing your two Edward Allison razors I am confident that I have one as well. While it is not stamped Allison the jibs and bone scales and shape of the blade are all the same. Also, what seals it for me are the washers on your second Allison are the same ones on my razor. But would the lack of the Crown seal on mine mean pre-1830 or possibly made for export?

Unfortunately, even such similar design features are no guarantee of who made it. The Sheffield work system meant that design elements like that weren't 'proprietary'. Most likely there was a particular work team who developed the style and they made blades like that for whoever would pay them, and when there weren't any work orders, they made them 'generic' like yours.

Workers often took second and third jobs to pay for first and second ones. Since they had to rent space in the workshop, buy their own materials, pay for gas-lighting, and a whole host of other costs incurred in order to work you see that sort of generic razor quite a lot.

Supposedly the old-timers could tell who made which piece by looking at them, but all that knowledge has been lost now, and probably wasn't even easily passed along in the first place.

Originally Posted by tedh75

Interesting. I love stuff like that. I really enjoyed your article on William Greaves and Sons. Very informative.
I was wondering if you knew anything about he maker of this razor? I have found precious little myself. The "Y" looks familiar and is that a crown next to it or more "Y's". Also can't make out the symbol opposite the "Y". Do you think it is contemporary to the first Allison you posted?

Those symbols - 'Y' 'fleur de lys' 'maltese cross' belonged to Joseph & Benjamin Broomhead, brothers, of Fargate, Sheffield. They appear in Sketchley's 1774 Directory and Bailey's 1781 Directory. Benjamin Broomhead was Master Cutler in 1787, but the original listing of the firm shows them as factors - no doubt they made razors under their own name too, though.

When Benjamin died in 1796 the firm became Broomhead and Rutherford, the old mark being retained. There is a listing for Joseph Broomhead, 1817, but no other details are to be found.

They had another brother, Samuel Broomhead, famous for the pistol corporate mark. With his apprentice Joseph Ward they formed Broomhead & Ward.

However, this does not explain R. Hilliard's name below J & B. Broomheads corporate mark, so he either bought the mark or sold razors with this mark which had passed onto someone else.

R. H. Hilliard & Co shows up in an 1822 listing as a table cutlery manufacturer at 9 Meadow Street, but he also appears in Piggot's 1822 directory as a razor-maker in Grindle Gate. Grindle is thought to have derived from the word 'grinding' and the area was full of people in the steel industry, like knife and razor grinders, edged implement makers, surgeons instrument makers, etc, so it is a probability that R. H. Hilliard was something to do with making razors.

Regards,
Neil