Knife, Shoe

Object Name:

Knife, Shoe

Object ID:

1977.055.01.084

Creator:

Webster, William (1839-1905)Toolmaker

Place of Origin:

East Jaffrey, NH/North Bridgewater, MA

Date:

1863-1894

Description:

Shoe knife. Steel knife blade, 0.5" long, 0.5" wide at base, hafted in a turned wooden handle with three faint grooves near top and bottom, oval brass ferrule. Knife blade has straight back and a swept back cutting edge, each edge is sharpened on one side. End blunt with notches on each edge. Stamped "WEBSTE[R]" on sharpened side. From shoemaker's bench 1977.055.01.1.

Material:

Metal
Wood
Steel
Brass

Dimensions:

L-4.875 Dia-0.75 inches

Provenance:

Acquired in the vicinity of Durham, NH by the collector James Cowan Sawyer (1872-1944).

William Webster (1839-1905) worked in North Bridgewater, MA (now Brockton, MA) in 1863. He worked in East Jaffrey, NH, from 1873-1894.

A shoe sole pattern (1977.55.1.96) bears the names Wiggin & Newhall who are listed in the 1895 Dover City Directory as boot and shoemakers. They were successors to Smith & Wiggin (1892-93 Dover City Directory), who were in turn successors of Walton R. Shaw (1890-91 and 1892-93 Dover City Directories). Wiggin was later in partnership with Dudley L. Furber who made shoes until 1914. Several shoe sole patterns (1977.55.1.95-.98) bear the initials H.G., possibly referring to Henry Glidden of Glidden and Bennett, boot and shoe manufacturers listed in the Dover City directories for 1888-1893.

Credit Line:

James Cowan Sawyer Collection, Gift of George F. Sawyer and Charles H. Sawyer

People:

Webster, William (1769-1848), Bennett, Ellery I. (1850-1917), Furber, Dudley L. (1848-1914), Glidden, Henry P. (1833-1916), Newhall, Frank L. (1868-1949), Smith, Nelson H. (1864-19 ? ), Wiggin, Charles F. (1868-1931), Sawyer, James Cowan (1872-1944), Sawyer, George F. (1902-1992), Sawyer, Charles H. (1906-2005)