This saw belongs to Lorenzo, and he was having trouble posting the pictures, so I'm posting the pictures on Lorenzo's behalf. The things about this saw that really stand out, are the cone nuts ( terminology? ) with the steel sideplate, ( Has anyone seen this on a Taylor before?) and the magnificient etch. Regards Ray PS.. Just for interest's sake the image sizes exceeded the size limit, and I had to reduce to 1024x768 for thumbnails.
Hi Lorenzo and Ray, As you say, Ray it is an interesting saw, and lovely as well. Particularly the etch. I don't know which part of the globe Lorenzo comes from (perhaps I should) but as soon as I saw the saw I thought "Export model". ??North America?? And with the "Sheffield" in italics like that - going on for the 1860's. I have a "thing" for Taylors and this is just reinforces it. Fred I have just looked at the close-up of the stamp properly and whilst the italics are still italics, they are much fancier than the "normal" 1860's ones. A truly classy saw. I also cannot make out the name on the back, could anyone give me a nudge towards it.
Hi Fred, I think it's a J TAYLOR & SON As you've said, it's pretty elaborate decoration, I wonder if it was made for an exhibition? Regards Ray
Hi Ray, You are very possibly right about the it being an exhibition saw. But which one and where? Also the cone nuts are bothering me for an 1860's saw. I have just realised that I don't know when they were first brought out, but the 1860's seems a little early for them. Is this a "retro" mark on a later saw. I really have no idea but I suspect not. Does anyone have any. Fred I have just found an exhibition in London (Cromwell Road) in 1862 but that is a complete stab in the dark. If it was a saw destined for export it could be for any exhibition anywhere, I suppose.
In the US Disston used cone nuts during the 1850s and 1860s on high end saws, and other manufacturers as well. (such as Cresson and WM&C) Then they started using them again but on lower priced saws around the mid 1870s (I think) and used them until at least WW1. In their catalogs they sold replacement nuts and they simply referred to that style as "raised".
Thanks for that Toby, In which case this may well make it an Exhibition saw destined for the North American market (as cone nuts were anathema to {most if not all??} British domestic saws at the time) and the exhibition may well have been in the USA. Are there any likely candidates for this?? I am going out on a limb here as I don't know where the saw came from, but it seems to fit. Fred
Hi Fred, Lorenzo, Not helping further the research, but I can rule out the 1853 New York World's fair, I managed to find an exhibition catalogue on-line and Taylor Brothers weren't represented. The saw makers who exhibited at the 1853 Fair were. Marsden, Brothers & Silverwood Wm Jackson & Co. Richard Groves & Sons Blake & Parkin No Taylor... Regards Ray PS... Crystal Palace... Totally off topic, but shows where you can end up, once you start trying to unravel the history.... Interestingly the 1853 fair was held in New York's Crystal Palace, inspired by the Crystal Palace purpose built in London for the 1851 exhibition.. image from .. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_Crystal_Palace
J Taylor and son saw I took the saw to an English restorer who trained at Buckingham Palace and he said it is an English crest with the seal warranted by the queen so I'm thinking English
Hey Lorenzo et al. This is an example of one of my saws that Wiktur and I did a little write up on and so it may give you an example and other info on dating. American, but gives you time perspective. http://www.wkfinetools.com/hUS-saws...akewell-WMB-No3-Backsaw/Backsaw-WMB-No3-1.asp I just have a feeling that your saw would be in the 1870-80s period just by the shape of the handle and that Taylor Bros were very good at that time for these types of etches. It could have been for export, because we also see a lot more examples in the colonies and Australia would have been a prime export location. Wonderful deep etch and well loved with a lot of metal sharpened away. Joe S.
The "J Taylor & Son" mark is one of the many trade names used on saws made by Taylor Brothers. It seems likely that Lorenzo's backsaw was made at the same time that this Sheffield manufacturer was producing handsaws with the same raised iron screws, and side plates. Pictures show c1890 Taylor Bros catalogue page (received from Simon a couple of years ago ), and one of my J Taylor & Son handsaws (which might have once had the A19 train etch, but now only has remnants )
A lovely etch on a fine saw. Taylor bros are in my opinion much under-rated, and their name is much less well known than S&J and the Tyzack tribe. But they had a huge trade, and made very fine tools. They certainly had a much larger range of etches than any others, and yet another of those unwritten projects of mine is to analyse fully the huge range of invoice books and printing ephemera from the specialist printers who did their etches (all originals are in the Sheffield libraries and at the Hawley Collection). This certainly has the look of an exhibition piece, and probably from the 1860-1880 period. I haven't seen a maker's name for screws of this sort, but they are used on a Beardshaw I have which was probably made for the 1851 Great Exhibition, and I've seen them on one or two other similar specials. The steel plate was one of those features that really add up to no more than gimmicks - attempts to push something "new" and therefore indispensable. Joseph Peace were granted a Registered Design number in 1850 for them - see the pic from the 1856 trade directory - not quite a patent, but a form of protection. They were also used by other makers.