Attached is the maker's mark from a hand saw I acquired recently (see picture). I cannot find this name anywhere - I'm reading it as Seth xxxHERS - Smithers?? But this isn't a name of a maker, ironmonger, dealer etc that is in my database, and I'm too distant from London to chase it up in a library there. It's a typical Sheffield (definitely not London pattern) 26inch hand saw of about 1870 -nice beech handle, curved lower horn, 4 screws, no medallion.But the Sheffield directories are no help either. Help, please! Simon PS If anyone wants to try on a bigger (more pixels) picture, please email me on barleys@mac.com
Well...here's a long shot. I found Seth Summers, who was a joiner, builder, undertaker, and ladder maker, at 17 Balaclava Road. This is from Whites directory of Sheffield, Rotherham, 1879. Sounds like a man who did many things to make a dollar (or pound), maybe he tried selling saws with his name on them that were made by someone else. Toby
Sincere thanks, Toby. I'm sure you're right in your reading of the name, and at that date (the year there were the most ever saw makers and "saw makers" in a directory) I'm not the least surprised to learn that Seth Summers' several trades included having saws made with his name. Balaclava road is a small street in the upper Don Valley, at that date an area packed with businesses of all kinds, with plenty of saw makers within a small distance. Another late entry for the list....