Taylor Brothers 26" Rip Stamped on Reverse

Dear all, I thought that I would share a recent find with you.
A Taylor Brothers 26" rip, stamped with "German Steel" & Taylor Brothers in the center of the blade, toward the handle it has the serpentine "made for use" stamp, but the unusual thing on this saw is that it has a secondary die stamp on the reverse / back side of the blade just off center, "Blyth Brothers Sole Importers".
This saw was found in Melbourne Australia, it's a curious thing, sole importers to Melbourne, or some OTHER place.. ?
Any input or wags are welcomed....

Regards

Mari

 

Underthedirt, this is really funny - I am sitting here, working on Taylor Brothers History Overview for the website and this comes in! Excelent!!!

German Steel and the stamp on the back make this saw rather unique for me. Even more, the crown and TB stamp under Taylor Brothers makes it even more interesting.

As to Blyth Brothers, they were English - Mauritius marketing and sales company, established in 1830, with headquarters Port Louis, Mauritius. They were importing all kind of material to Australia and have had an office in Adelaide. It looks like they were all kind of deals makers in the whole region.

The stamp, I would assume, meant – We Are the Big Boys Here- it is our territory!

Wikipedia has the following about the company:
“Ireland Blyth Ltd. is one of the largest business groups in Mauritius. The company headquarters is in Port Louis. It was incorporated in 1972 following the merger of two leading companies which had been trading in Mauritius since the early 19th Century, namely Blyth Brothers, founded in 1830 by James Blyth, and Ireland Fraser & Co. Ltd., founded in 1850 by George Ireland and James Fraser. In 1994 the group became a public company and was admitted to the Official List of the Stock Exchange of Mauritius. The group has a turnover of over $13 billion Mauritian rupees. In 2008 the company was reported as the largest company in Mauritius per their net sales revenues.
The IBL Group operates in five main sectors of the economy: retail, financial services, seafood & marine, logistics and engineering & commerce. The group employs 5,000 people.”

As to dating – I think it is rather early saw but this is just a gut feeling.

Very nice and unique saw!!!

 

Hi Wiktor48,

That is amazing! Importers from Mauritius stamping a saw destined for Australia.
Your reply is greatly appreciated, thank you very much for taking the time to write about that lovely saw.....
That is very interesting indeed! What a survivor.

Regards
Mari

 

Nice one, Mari. The TB mark is interestingly similar to the medallion on a saw by this firm that I'm sure was also an export model – I must look on the back of the blade to see if there are any marks there. It also has a serpentine "Made for use" mark near the handle. I've dated it tentatively at about 1870.

 

Hi Simon, thank you for your reply...
That is a gorgeous handle on that backsaw, it looks in very good shape. I hope you find another stamp on the back too!
Regards

Mari