Hello all, A half-decent saw from the U.K. this time. HSMOB has them as 1833 to 1834 and I can find nothing in the on-line directories to contradict that. I see that Burgon, Green and Co. went from 1817 to 1829 and I am wondereing if this was the successor company as far as Burgon was concerned. There are no on-line directories that I can find between 1833 and 1841, and they do not appear in 1841.So it looks like they may have had a relatively short existence. Can anyone point me to any intermediate directories?? The saw is nearly straight but the handle is very loose. I am not going to tighten it, however as I cannot bring myself to disturb the nuts on the rear. (See photo). Also note the chamfered back, the overhung front and the fact that cast steel has been put on so low down on the back that the first part of the stamp has missed. I like it. Fred
Hi Fred, Very nice find, I think 1830's would be about right, Geoffrey Tweedale lists a partnership between Peter Cadman, William Burgon and Thomas Green that was established in 1828, but dissolved in 1830. I suspect that the partnership between Peter Cadman and William Burgon, might date from 1830, following Thomas Green's exitting the business. Peter Cadman's father was also called Peter, and his son likewise... Peter.. In any event Peter Cadman's father (Peter Cadman) died in 1833, and Peter's son Peter... confusing lot, these Victorians... is listed a senior partner in Peter Cadman and Sons... in 1837.. William Burgon (also evidently spelt Burgin) was in a knife making partnership with his brother John Burgin... "Burgin Brothers" It looks possible (to me at least) that William Burgon left the partnership with Peter Cadman, to take up knife making.. So it would appear, If I've got it right, that your saw dates from that very narrow period, from around 1830 to 1837... Of course, it's possible that someone else continued to use the mark, but that seems unlikely in this case.. Congratulations on a very interesting saw, nice looker too... Regards Ray PS It's nice to find an example from a short-lived firm, since that pins the date a bit more accurately.
Hi Fred, I did a bit of research to try and provide a primary source to confirm Geoffrey Tweedale's notes on Peter Cadman and William Burgon. Here's the partnership dissolution that is referred to in Tweedale, And interestingly partnership between Cadman and Burgon ends in 1835, following the death of William Burgon, so here is the dissolution extract from the 1835 London Gazette. This provides three noteworthy pieces of information. 1. That there was indeed a partnership established following the earlier demise of the Burgon/Green/Cadman partnership. 2. The reason for the Burgon/Cadman partnership being so short lived is now obvious, William Burgon passed away, and the dissolution is signed by his wife Sarah. 3. The business passes to Peter Cadman and Sons, and thus we have a confirmed starting date for Peter Cadman and Sons. Sort of a triple whammy... I'll go out on a limb here and say that your saw was made between the dates of the above documents, that is between February 1830 and July 1835 Regards Ray PS Almost forgot to mention the reason for the stamp being Cadmans rather than Cadman now becomes clear... there were two of them.. William & Peter, nice to find a Cadman, NOT called Peter... PPS.. You might be able to tighten the handle without touching the screws, if you can make the wood expand a little, I've heard of people soaking handles in linseed oil to make the wood expand, although I've never done it myself.
Thanks for the research Ray, It is always nice and very useful/edifying to get down to the specifics such as this. I think that I will leave the handle. I am never going to use the saw and it will be in "as found" condition. Besides there is a lot of slack in it which I am not so sure that expansion on its own will compensate for. It is an interesting notion though. I may try it on one of my many less-than-wonderful saws. Fred
Burgon & Cadmans Nice work, Ray - very helpful in going some way to sorting out the five men in the Burgon, Green partnership: 1. Burgon you have done 2. Thomas Green is listed as a saw maker for 1823 only, but also in Paradise Square 3. Peter Cadman you have done (my only Cadman saw came from ebay in Australia) - it's a back saw of c1830 4. William Broadhurst went on to saw making from 1833-1855, and was Master Cutler in 1845 5. George Deakin probably (there were 3 of them in the directories at the same time) also went on to saw making from 1828 to 1864 Will the digging for information ever cease??!