I recently found a 14" back saw with the stamp "T.W. Petersen & Co., Sheffield, Cast Steel" flanked by two crowns. It had two very small split nuts (7/16"), though one is now missing. I do not yet have Simon's book, so ran a quick search on Google which revealed almost nothing. Is anything known about T.W. Petersen & Co. and the time period in which this saw might have been made?
Hi, I can see nothing in BSSM. I am not sure that we are that much further forward as there are two Petersens in Graces Guide, both around 1914 (which could well be the date for your saw) but one is an importer of soft goods and the other is a Steamship owner and broker and I cannot see either having saws named after them. I will have a look through Historical Directories when I can. Petersen should be quite an easy name to search. Fred EDIT. Found them. Thos.W. Peterson and Co. in Whites 1901 page 381. They are listed as Hardware Merchants at 56 Trafalgar Street, Sheffield.
Thank you, Fred. That information fits with the context in which the saw was found. While not many English tools are found in my area, 1900 was the heyday of the mining industry. There were many craftsmen in the area supporting the industrial work and creating fine woodwork in the extravagant homes of the mining captains.
A very interesting find: thanks for the chance to see it. As to the different spellings, I'd be more inclined (in this case, but not usually) to go for the saw as the spelling the retailer would have approved, simply because it's the less usual, and he would have had perhaps more control over it, whereas the printing of the directory was a process far removed from the people listed in it, and I can imagine a know-all printer "correcting" the spelling to Peterson. I've taken the liberty of tweaking the mark picture and attach it, as I hoped it would be clearer what is marked under the retailer's name - bright struck, presumably, and something like Warranted Cast Steel? Could Enjuneer maybe let us see a big-pixel picture of the mark? (incidentally, 56 Trafalgar street was very close to Robert Sorby's Kangaroo Works). Thanks, Simon
Apologies to all and particularly to Simon, The spelling in Whites is Petersen and it was my mistake to transpose it to the more normal spelling of Peterson. Also just to make verification easier, whilst the proper page number is Whites is p. 381 the corresponding Historical Directories page is p. 425 Fred
Petersen is nonetheless an unusual name to see in Sheffield, only one in today's Sheffield phone book, but 11 Tyzacks and 16 Sorbys.