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

Wow love that! Those jimps are veritably industrial

Jimptastic

Did you ever finish the restoration on this one?

Is it the one that was listed on ebay.co.uk ?

Regards

Originally Posted by tedh75

Did you ever finish the restoration on this one?

I honed it, but have otherwise done nothing else. It's a favorite shaver despite the toll of ages!

Originally Posted by charlie48horlogerie

Is it the one that was listed on ebay.co.uk ?

Hmm. Do you have a link to that? I don't think it was. I did get an Allison from eBay recently, but it was this one.







The spine is etched 'Warranted To Shave Well'.

And since posting here, I've dug up more information about Allison over here, on my blog.

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?

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?

That's a tough one! The part at the top looks like the cutler's corporate mark, which appears to be Y <something> Cross symbol.

The name looks to me like R. HI????D'S. Thankfully, that's all I need to find him!

R. H. Hilliard working at 9 Meadowstreet and listed in Gell's 1825 Sheffield Directory -- his sole listing.

He doesn't turn up in the apprentice registers either, so he didn't go through the traditional training, or at least not in Sheffield. Chances are he was a businessman of some sort and he tried his hand at selling fancy razors.

The SINGLE Gell's listing suggests he wasn't in business for long, but that razor definitely looks more 1830's than 1820's. There was obviously some blending between the styles, but I can't think of ever seeing a tang of that shape from George IV's run.

Zac if you ever publish a book on razors, or perhaps a collection of books, count me in. Your razors are amazing and your knowledge astounding. I love reading your blog.

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