Set of Bone Handle Knives & Forks By. J. Russel Company

Details

Description

Age:
Late 1800’s

Details:
6 Forks/5 Knives From Green River Works
High Quality Construction

Many industries just did not … Read more Age:
Late 1800’s

Details:
6 Forks/5 Knives From Green River Works
High Quality Construction

Many industries just did not exist in the United States when we won our independence
for England. From the beginning of colonization the colonies were forbidden to
manufacture in certain industries like silk and cutlery forcing the colonies to buy the high
tech products of the day from the mother country. People like John Russell felt the new
United States should be able to manufacture high quality cutlery at competitive prices
and sought to undercut the monopoly the Sheffield England Guilds had at the time. The
poetic descriptions he read about the cutlery-making in Sheffield appealed to Russell
and on the basis of this romantic attraction he adopted the manufacture of cutlery to be
his life's work. The Russell Cutlery Company was established along the banks of the
Green River in Greenfield MA. in 1833. In 1870 the company built a new factory in
nearby Turners Falls MA. After difficult financial problems brought on by the depression
the Harrington Cutlery Company of Southbride MA. bought out Russell in 1933 and
became Russell - Harrington Company. The merger brought together two famous
names in Cutlery - Dexter and Russell and saved both companies from possible
oblivion. The Russell factory continued for a while in Turners Falls but eventually all the
companies consolidated at the Southbridge location. Today the companies survive as
Dexter - Russell. The Russell factory in Greenfield is considered by historians to have
been the beginnings of the American Mass production metal working industry employing
what has been known as the American Manufacturing System or Armory System to the
cutlery industry.

Condition:
Excellent Condition - Minor Signs Of Light Household Use-Age
Some Patina & Pitting To Metal

Size:
Knife - .75w x .25d x 9h
Fork - .5w x .25d x 8h See less