Here are two J. Taylor & Son backsaws. Both are marked J. Taylor & Son, Sheffield, Warranted Cast Steel and both have the "Advance" logo with the paschal lamb insignia. The older saw is 14" with a brass back and dome nuts. I have had it for a long time. I was surprised last week to find another one at a garage sale by the same maker. The newer one is 12" with split nuts and a medallion with the same name and logo. Both saws have hang holes and the newer one had a break in the lamb's tongue which I have attempted to fix. How common is this maker and what can you tell me about these saws? There are a lot of Taylors listed as sawmakers in Sheffield. Are they all separate companies or different lines of saws by the same maker? Thanks, Tom
Two Taylor & Son saws This firm was one of the big 4 or 5 Sheffield firms of the 19/20th centuries. They were unique in the very large number of their secondary makes (which probably differed little in quality). From this large number I sometimes wonder if they didn't make as many if not more than better known firms like Spear and Jackson, Groves, and the Tyzacks, WT and J.Their progress was as follows: 36 New Meadow Street 1837 37 Burnt Tree Lane 1841-1852 Adelaide Works, Harvest Lane 1854 Mowbray Street 1851-1859 Adelaide Works, Mowbray Street 1862-1887 Lancaster Street (office: Adelaide Works, Mowbray Street) 1888-1971 The 1837-1846 entries are Joseph & John Taylor, becoming Taylor Brothers thereafter. The Mowbray Street and Harvest Lane addresses were probably the same set of buildings. With Spear & Jackson and Tyzack, Sons & Turner one of the most productive Sheffield saw manufacturers, with saws surviving in large numbers (including in North America). More is known about their productivity in the second half of the 19th century than about any of their competitors, because the records of the printing firm that made etching transfers for them has survived in the Archives section of Sheffield’s Libraries; samples of many of these transfers, as well as labels from the boxes of tools, are preserved in the Hawley Tool Collection. These documents show that Taylors were buying tens of thousands of transfers every year, each transfer used once, not only for marking their own make of saw, but also for factoring for other Sheffield saw-making firms (Thomas Firth, Alfred Beckett, Drabble & Sanderson, Marshes & Shepherd, John Kenyon and many others), as well as other English firms like Clarke of Exeter and Cross of Cardiff, and scores of dealers in Russia, South and North America, the Caribbean, Australia, India and the Far East. Some Taylor Brothers’ saws bear the words “Made for use†in a serpentine form; one early (c1850) mark has the words “Cast steel†in serpentine form also (these forms have been recorded on very few other makes). This is the list of their trademarks etc: Advance; Lamb&flag+picture; the guinea for the million+picture; J.Taylor & Son; J&I Taylor; Smithson; Melvin; Rolyat; Adelaide; circular saw (picture); Arnold; Tangonia; Johnson; Justice; The Queen. Even their postwar saws are good quality tools. Note that Rolyat, is Taylor spelled backwards - a fairly frequent habit for Sheffield firms.
Hi Tom, I think Taylor Brothers saws are always good to find, they have a nice feel about them. Here is some artwork that comes from a box label, Amazing amount of work for something that's essentially disposable.. it has a certain appeal to an Australian... Although I'm not entirely sure quite what were they thinking putting the Australian Coat of Arms on the label for a box of saws.. And some Taylor Brothers brands. I know it's been already posted elsewhere on here, but it doesn't hurt to refer to it again... this is the higher resolution version. Regards Ray
The coat of arms seems to represent Melbourne's mashed with Adelaide's with the kangaroo and emu of Australia's.